


Such a Small World

by KibaSin



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 幽☆遊☆白書 | YuYu Hakusho: Ghost Files
Genre: Angst, Drama, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Implied/Referenced Cheating, One-Sided Relationship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2007-02-07
Updated: 2008-07-23
Packaged: 2017-12-20 13:38:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 68,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/887899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KibaSin/pseuds/KibaSin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yusuke is bored with his 'perfect life'. So, he slips off his wedding band and sleeps with a girl who's having problems with her relationship. He finds he likes the thrill of possibly being caught and continues. It was only a matter of time…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**  I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi and Takahashi Rumiko, thus I hold no ownership to either of the series and gain nothing but self-accomplishment from writing this fanfiction._

_**Rating:**  T_

_**Genre:**  Romance/Drama_

* * *

**Important Note:**  You must remember that everyone within the story is going to be human. If you do not, then you might get confused and I don't want that to happen to anyone that happens to read this. I'm going to tell you now, though, that if you don't like the idea of the Yu Yu Hakusho and Inuyasha characters being human that you shouldn't read this. Because they will be human, they will not have most of the abilities that they do during the manga or animes. Their pasts have been altered just enough so that it fits within the story, but doesn't go overboard, and I'm not going to change it simply because someone doesn't like it. I'm only warning you once.

 **Original Posting:** Feb. 7, 2007

* * *

_**Chapter One** _

Urameshi Keiko stared blankly at the wall, the videotape she'd decided to watch still running as her heart screamed that it wasn't true. The sound of a woman moaning continued to haunt her thoughts, while the sound of her husband's voice filled her ears, ringing over and over again. The dirty words spilling from the television caused her to take a small glance at the screen, before she once more turned to stare at the wall, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Reaching over to the video camcorder, she hit the stop button, before placing her head into her hand. The tears finally began to course down her face, the realization of the situation coming to life. She'd watched the entire thing twice now, trying to tell herself that it wasn't true. She'd hoped that it was merely Yusuke with his friends or something, which would have explained why it had been left on and the battery was dead when she returned home from visiting her family. She had known that it was strange to find it sitting on top of their dresser with a dead battery and still clicked so that it would turn on as soon as the battery was charged.

She wasn't sure what possessed her to watch it. Now, though, the doubts that her friends had been putting into her head had finally come to life and she cursed the short black-haired woman Yusuke had called 'Kagome'. She couldn't blame Yusuke, the woman had been good-looking, but what had caused him to find pleasure with another woman? What had caused him to cheat on her? She wanted to blame and curse the woman, but she knew that it probably wasn't her fault. Not the way she'd flinched and tried to convince Yusuke of not going through with it during the beginning of the video. All she really remembered about it was Yusuke saying, "I'll tell if you don't…"

Everything pointed to Yusuke being the villain, while her and this Kagome were merely victims. It made her heart break, knowing that Yusuke was possibly blackmailing pretty women into sleeping with him, since there was the chance that Kagome wasn't the only one. Then again, Kagome might not even be the woman's real name—it was an odd one to have. Even so, she was still a victim because there had been real fear in her eyes the moment Yusuke told her he'd 'tell'.

There was no way Yusuke would have planned recording that. The fear in Kagome's eyes had been real, which lead Keiko to believe that Yusuke was blackmailing her simply because of her looks. Or perhaps because he knew something about her that would ruin her life should it get back to her family… or her boyfriend. A woman that pretty had to have a boyfriend, and she doubted it was Yusuke. Especially since Yusuke had either been late or missed out most of  _their_  dates while they were going out. So, maybe the woman had been drunk and needed up sleeping with her husband… then Yusuke figured out who she was and told her he'd tell her boyfriend everything if she didn't continue sleeping with him.

She smiled bitterly. It just sounded like something her Yusuke would end up doing in the end. Her friends had always told her that Yusuke was too much of a bad boy for just one woman. That one day he'd end up going off to find another woman and try to keep it behind her back. She only wished that she hadn't yelled at them, telling them that Yusuke had changed. Telling them that Yusuke would never do that to her because he loved her. Now, she wouldn't be surprised if they laughed in her face when she told them that everything they said had come true. Sure, afterward they might comfort her, but she was positive they'd laugh at her first.

Her hands clenched around the edge of her shirt, millions of thoughts rushing through her head as she tried to overcome the anger at Yusuke, the rage, the sadness, the worry, and now the guilt she felt when it came to her friends. If she'd listened to any of the signs then she might have been able to do something exciting and new with Yusuke, thus averting his mind from doing  _this_.

From destroying their family. Beginning to tear apart the love she'd thought they felt for each other. Making her feel as if she wanted to simply fall asleep and never wake up again… Another smile crossed her lips a bit, for she knew she couldn't have that. Even if Yusuke didn't care, she still had a child to take care of. Their child. She wasn't about to leave that duty behind to a cheating bastard who'd probably laugh at the fact that she'd killed herself. Not when Rini, she knew, loved her and would miss her should anything happen to her.

Wiping at her face, Keiko stood from the bed. She'd just wait until Yusuke got home, because she was going to tell him exactly what was going to happen from then on. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to go through with this anymore. Not with the knowledge that Yusuke might end up cheating on her again, even when he'd given his word it wouldn't happen. With a final look at the video camcorder, Keiko shook her head and went to find her suitcase. She had a deep feeling that Yusuke wouldn't be the one leaving; he was much too stubborn to even consider the idea.

He'd have to deal with the fact that her and Rini wouldn't be around until he could prove that he wasn't going to do anything like this  _ever again_. Until then her and their daughter would be visiting someone. She wasn't sure whom yet, but she'd figure that out when the time came. After all, there weren't that many of her friends who even had enough room to house her and Rini.

* * *

Tears of regret washed down her cheeks as she stumbled down the road. It was beginning to get dark and her legs hurt from walking so much. That's all she'd been doing since the time she'd woken that morning, trying to make everything simply leave her alone. But everything clung to her like her shadow; making her know that she'd done something she'd never wanted to. She'd done something simply because she'd been fighting with the man she loved. She'd done it because of the sweet words that fell from another man's mouth, simply because she'd wanted to hear them. But she'd done something so much worse.

Again. She'd done  _it_  again. She felt so dirty, but when she found out that Yusuke knew her boyfriend, everything had gone downhill. It meant that he'd be able to tell him that she'd broken their fragile trust, and then everything she'd come to care about would fall through her fingers. Her entire world would collapse beneath her feet, leaving her falling into nothing but despair. Besides, she couldn't bear to hurt her love that way.

So she was trying to run away from her problems. Trying to make sure that they didn't catch up with her in the end. Even when she knew that sooner of later they'd come back to haunt her. That she'd never be able to escape the fact that she'd slept with another man. That she'd betrayed the only man that should have ever done such sinful things to her body. Not that Yusuke hadn't tried to make it enjoyable, but it just hadn't been the same.

Not without the love that she knew was in her heart. For a near silent man who only spoke whenever something important needed to be said. A man who could easily be pinned as the rudest she'd ever met, yet she loved him. More so than she'd ever thought she could. She loved him so much that she'd given him the most precious thing she had, even though she'd told herself over and over again that she'd never give it up until she was married. Hell, not even Inuyasha, the bastard, had managed to get it out of her, no matter how many times he tried. And she'd thought she loved Inuyasha. That love, though, was only a small speck compared to the flame she felt for the man who'd helped mend her shredded heart.

After what Inuyasha had done to her, she wasn't entirely surprised she'd been swayed so easily. That her so called friends had managed to actually make her think that her boyfriend wouldn't be faithful to her. She shouldn't have ever believed that, for it was obvious what kind of man he was. Which meant that she'd been the one to go against everything she'd ever known. She'd done the thing that she'd almost been certain he would end up doing. All because of the fear from her past relationship that she'd felt—the fear that her  _friends_ fed, hoping she'd do what she'd never thought she'd do.

She had, even after all these years of telling herself she'd give herself to one man and one man only. Then it was all flushed down the toilet simply because she'd ended up fighting with her boyfriend, trying to see if he would do such a thing or not. It wasn't like he'd told her that he wouldn't, and he didn't deny that he wouldn't, so what was she to believe. Her heart, or the words that she'd heard from others? Was she to believe that he'd never cheat on her simply because her heart told her he wasn't that type of man, or the fact that everyone else seemed to think he would?

She was so confused. She wanted to simply drop somewhere and never get up again. Not like it would do her any good, she already felt like she was being ripped apart. She'd only be helping her self-torture along, knowing that she was filth.  _She_  was the one to sleep with another person while she was in a relationship. She'd done something she'd been taught to never do.

Sobs began to fill her chest as she turned her face toward the rising moon, wishing it would give her the peace she sought. Wishing that she'd be able to simply make everything go away, to stop haunting her every time she thought of what she'd done. Wishing that his angry eyes would stop flashing in her thoughts, telling her that he'd most likely drop her like he'd done so many other women before her. He'd call her a whore and tell her to never step into his sight again.

She'd be once again heart broken. But not like when Inuyasha chose Kikyo, her own cousin, over her. No, it'd be so much worse. She already felt like she was killing herself, but she was sure that if anything were to happen to him… even if he were to never want to see her again, she'd die on the inside. She wouldn't want to live. She'd rather drown herself, or perhaps just stop eating and drinking. She was sure the only person who'd try to help her at that point would be her stepsister, Sango. There'd be only one person who'd care, while the rest were laughing at the fact that she'd believed them. That she'd allowed them to plant the seeds of doubt into her mind and made her go against everything her deceased mother had taught her.

Turning down another street, Higurashi Kagome stumbled again. She placed her hand against a nearby wall in order to stop herself from falling completely onto her face. She knew that she was usually a little graceful since she'd started dating again, but she was a klutz underneath everything else. She tried so hard to sniffle the sobs that continued to fill her chest, as she moved down street upon street, hoping everything would simply fall from her shoulders and never bother her again. Somewhere, though, deep inside, she knew her wish wouldn't come true.

Going down another street, she once again looked up at the moon for console. Wishing that her mother were there to comfort her, instead of merely the scent that still filled the shrine. The shrine she'd given to Sango, since she hadn't been able to handle the fact that she would be living there without her mother anymore. She missed her mother so much.

She didn't realize that she'd been walking the same streets over and over again, simply trying to find some type of peace. She didn't realize that everyone she knew walked the same streets. She didn't realize anything for her eyes were blurry and she simply wanted to fall to her knees and wail to the moon. She wanted to, hoping that it would make her pain go away. That her sin would melt from her shoulders and never come back to haunt her, but she knew that sooner or later he would find out. Her life was ruined and it was all because of a stupid man named Urameshi Yusuke.

"Hn." Kagome's eyes snapped up when she heard the sound, her frightened eyes landing upon a black figure standing under a streetlight. "I was beginning to wonder where you'd wandered off to. Sango called and said you hadn't come home, concerned over every little thing like the woman usually is."

Her body shook, her feet cementing her to the ground. "H-H-Hiei…" she stuttered, staring into the strangely colored eyes that her boyfriend had. The eyes that had caused his parents to give him up to an orphanage when he was born—the red eyes that she was positive would see into her very soul.

"You seem frightened to see me, Kagome," Hiei said, frowning. "Usually you're cheery and run straight into my arms." He frowned deeper, "What's wrong?"

" _Hiei_."

Continuing to stare at him in fear and sadness, Kagome felt herself crack.


	2. Chapter 2

Yusuke whistled to himself, grinning as he walked toward home. He was glad that his wife was going to be finally be home, instead of having to go out and find some excitement. He knew that he shouldn't have done it, but he was somewhat drunk and then he'd found that it was exciting. Knowing that Keiko could decide at any moment to come home early and find him with another woman. Yes, he was slightly angry with himself for taking advantage of Kagome, but it had happened, twice.

The second time was simply because he'd needed a little relief and he didn't want to disturb Keiko while she was visiting her family. He'd hated the fact that he'd known the woman he'd slept with the first time, but it had worked out for him. After all, it wasn't like her relationship with Hiei was the best, which meant it was easy to tell her that he'd simply tell Hiei she was a slut. Besides, she was a nice piece of ass, maybe even nicer than Keiko was. Sure, she was in  _love_  with Hiei, but she had slept with him the first time, so what was a second? It was her own fault for listening to the women Hiei allowed her to hang around and trying to find comfort in someone elses arms, not his.

Then there was the other woman; some chick named Yuri, but that was only once. He'd been trying to find some type of excitement in his life since it had started to become dull over the last year. Yes, he knew that he should be faithful to his wife, but there was just something about cheating that made his blood boil. Something that he wanted to do over and over again, hoping deep down that Keiko would come to understand why he was doing it. Besides, it wasn't like his mother had ever been the best role model and he'd always wondered if he even had a father because the bastard ran out on them. If Keiko wanted to get pissy with him then she could, but he was trying to save their marriage, instead of simply becoming so bored with it that he left her all together.

Like his father left his mother.

Sighing through his nose, his whistling coming to an end, Yusuke stared down the street. He didn't want that to happen, which was the reason he went through with the act each time. He loved his little girl, he loved his wife, and he didn't want a little boredom to get in the way of that. He didn't want to end up like his own father and run out on them after five long years. So, he searched for a bit of excitement, and he'd found it the night that he'd found Kagome crying on a barstool. He did it in order to make sure the boredom went away and his little girl wasn't left without a father. But did that make it right?  _No_.

"God damn it," Yusuke cursed, "what's wrong with me?" He hated whenever his conscience went against him, trying to make him see reason. He needed to find excitement in order to keep himself with Keiko, thus making sure that Rini didn't go fatherless. He needed to, but his conscience knew that it wasn't right, which meant he knew. In the end, that meant he was in deep shit if Keiko ever found out.

Hell, he wouldn't even have to worry about Keiko if Hiei ever found out. The fucking guy was protective as hell over Kagome, even though he hated to admit it, which meant he'd dug himself a grave. He'd dug himself a grave twice over. Hiei was sure to find out and when that happened Keiko would find out and his life would crumble before his eyes. He just hoped that his little trip for excitement wouldn't mean that he wouldn't be able to fix his wrong, make sure that everything went back to normal. True, Hiei might never look at him without glaring, perhaps even dump Kagome, but he was more worried about his marriage than his friendship with Hiei.

 _Why can't I think of these things before I do something?_  Yusuke wondered. He knew that he was the type to simply do before thinking, but he hated it. Sometimes he simply wished he could think before he did something, thus avoiding all the trouble that he put himself in. He blamed it on his parentage, but he knew that it was his fault he was that way. He shouldn't have picked so many fights when he was in school. He'd always told himself to merely kick their ass without thinking, which led him to do most things without thinking about the consequences first.

Running a hand through his messy hair, Yusuke hoped that he could fix what he'd done. Maybe even patch up his friendship with Hiei, since he knew he'd broken the fragile trust between him and Kagome, not to mention the thin one they'd managed to create. Hiei was sure to never trust him again, maybe even telling him to never even look at Kagome again, but that wouldn't bother him. Looking at her might get him around to thinking about finding some more excitement, no matter who the girl was. He knew that he'd have to try really hard to even get Hiei to talk to him, though, since the guy barely trusted anyone. Hell, he only trusted Kagome because he'd fallen in love with her. He was lucky to have been there when Hiei had mumbled it to Kagome, which made him feel even worse.

"Damn it, I've really screwed up." He glared at the ground, pressing his lips together as hard as he could. He'd known, even when he'd taken Kagome to bed the first time, that she'd been emotionally broken, which meant he'd taken advantage of her. The second time he'd blackmailed her. Hiei was sure to hate him for that. The man had always been bitter about the fact that his own parents gave him up simply because his eyes were different. He wasn't albino, but his eyes were almost blood red, which had, from what the orphanage had told him, made them  _want_  to give him up—all because of a small defect in his genetics. He was amazed that the guy had gotten over his bitterness to even fall in love, and he'd probably screwed up their relationship.

He shouldn't have even touched Kagome. He should have found another woman, like Yuri, and fucked her. But no, he had to be simply looking at the fact that the woman was easily swayed and good-looking. Then he woke up and found out that the woman he'd fucked his friend's woman, which had made it even more exciting. He should have kept his hands to himself after that, especially with the guilt that had washed over him at first, but then he'd realized it had been exciting. He'd found the excitement he'd been looking for, and so he did it again when Keiko left.

The exact fucking day that Keiko left!

Now, though, he wished that he hadn't even gone out to look for excitement. He should have spoken with someone else and asked them what he could have done to make the feeling go away. Instead of doing it twice with a woman he should have never touched, only  _afterward_  thinking about all the things that could, mostly likely would, be ruined because of it. All the things he'd screwed up, most of which weren't even his own. The feelings that he'd probably crushed beneath his feet in his search, and the possibility that his marriage was going to go down the tube.

His thoughts turned to Keiko, hoping that she'd understand his reasoning. Yes, she was probably going to be angry with him for quite some time, yelling and asking constantly where he had been, but he hoped she'd get over it. Allow him to explain and make it up. Hopefully help him find some way to get away from the boredom that continued to cling to him, ordering him to do something against the things he'd promised himself when he met Keiko. The promises he'd made when he'd decided he was going to ask her to marry him five years ago, and they'd slipped through his fingers so easily.

Yusuke looked up to find himself in front of their small little home, and closed his eyes momentarily to compose himself. He knew from the lights inside that Keiko was home. He knew that he was going to spill everything once she jumped into his arms. He just hoped that she'd give him time to explain, instead of simply slapping him and yelling for him to get out. Well, he wasn't going to leave, and he hoped he could stop Keiko from leaving. So that he could explain and hopefully put his life back onto the trail he'd wanted it to continue on.

That wouldn't stop him from hating himself, though. Because he did. Not only because he'd slept with Hiei's girl, but because he'd also slept with Yuri, seeking the excitement he wanted. Trying to make sure boredom didn't break his marriage. His wonderful, happy marriage, with his loving wife and his beautiful daughter. He hated himself now more than he'd ever hated himself, knowing that Keiko could have had any man she'd ever wanted; yet he held onto her. Simply because he loved her and was selfish enough to keep her from going after what she deserved… and now he'd probably ruined it all.

Walking up the path to the door, Yusuke fumbled in his pocket for his key. He knew that the door was most likely unlocked, but there was always the chance that it had been locked again. Keiko had always been the one to want to protect them, locking the doors and the windows. A smile crossed his face for a moment as he thought about it, knowing that Keiko was a wonderful mother and an excellent wife. She was protective and beautiful, yet he wasn't pleased with just her. Why? He'd never know, and he doubted he'd ever understand the reason why sleeping with other women excited him so much.

Maybe it was because it made him feel younger. Not that he was that old, but it had made him feel like a teenager who was upset or sick of his clingy girlfriend. But he wasn't a teenager anymore and he didn't have a clingy girlfriend, and he wasn't sick of his wife. He wasn't sure why it had made him feel that way, nor did he know why he wasn't pleased with Keiko. He loved Keiko, yet something just wasn't there anymore.

Gently taking hold of the doorknob, Yusuke turned it to test if it was unlocked or not. When it swung open he let go, though, and looked down into the red face of his wife, tears still streaming down from her eyes. He blinked; worry gripping his heart, fear filling his body when he noticed she was holding a suitcase in one hand and Rini was standing just behind her, her own suitcase trailing behind her. Smiling a little, he asked, "Where ya goin', Keiko? Anywhere important?"

"Away from you," Keiko hissed. "And don't try to act innocent, Yusuke. I know about your little night  _activities_  while Rini and I were away!"

He blinked, "What?"

"Go get in the car, Rini," Keiko said, looking down at the little girl at her side. When her daughter nodded and walked past her father out the door, she turned her angry eyes to the man standing in the doorway. "If you must know, Yusuke, Rini and I are going to go to Yukina's until you decide whether you want to make this family work or not. Especially after I found out you've been sleeping with other women! Tell me, Yusuke, did you expect to hide it from me? Especially when you recorded the damn act?"

"I didn't…" Yusuke started, only to be shoved out of his angry wife's way. He looked behind him as she walked down the pavement toward her car, where Rini was waiting in the backseat, waving at him. "I didn't do…"

"Don't try to deny it, Urameshi Yusuke," Keiko replied, turning to look at him. "I saw the damn video. Maybe next time you should turn it off afterward, instead of letting the battery die and simply leaving it on. Or maybe you should try taking the sex tape out afterward, hoping I won't find it."

"Keiko…"

"Goodbye, Yusuke." Keiko threw her suitcase into the front seat, before sliding it over into the left seat and getting into the drivers seat. "If you wish to try and convince me that what I saw wasn't actually you, then you'll know where to find me. Or maybe you can try to convince me that you'll never do this again. Either way, I'll be with Yukina." She made sure to slam the door, feeling fresh tears beginning to run down her cheeks. Putting the key into the ignition, Keiko started the car and nearly floored the gas once she was sure it wouldn't suddenly die on her.

Yusuke stood there, frozen in place as his wife and his daughter began to drive away from him. He hadn't… had he? Turning back to the house, he raced inside, barely taking time to close the door behind him as he went. He needed to know if he'd actually ended up recording the goddamn act. If he had, then there was solid proof for everyone. Not only Keiko, but Hiei and everyone else that he knew. Which meant his life was going to completely fall apart, he could feel it.

He should have never decided to slip off his wedding band in order to continue. He shouldn't have found the act thrilling, yet he had. He'd ruined his life. His perfect life. Before he decided he was bored, and screwed up so many things.

* * *

He wanted to kill something. More like some _one_. More like a certain person that he happened to be an acquaintance of, a person that Kagome hadn't been aware of because she'd always been talking with someone else at the time. That damn Urameshi Yusuke had touched what was his! His hand clenched as he gazed at the woman now sobbing at his feet, wrapping her arms around herself as she confessed everything that she'd done.

He wanted to blame her, to yell at her, and tell her to never come near him again. He did, but his heart clenched at the thought of never seeing her again, or trying to avoid her like the plague. He wanted to make her believe that she was scum that didn't deserve to be in his presence, but gazing down at her, he knew she'd already done that to herself. She'd already tortured herself so much that she wasn't even trying to reach out to him, knowing that he would most likely push her aside. And it hurt him to know that she was already doing so. To know that he was causing her to sob in such a way, even though he hadn't been the real reason. No, Yusuke was to blame for that. Yusuke and his damn…

He deflated, watching her simply sob; never even looking up at him in hope that he might give her a second chance. Yes, he was angry with Yusuke, he wanted to kill him more than anything, but he couldn't be angry with her. Not after what she'd told him. Looking away from her, he scowled, "Don't cry, Kagome."

She took a small glance up at him, giving him a good glance at her puffy eyes and her quivering lip. "But… I… I… slept with…"

"I know," he snapped. His voice was colder than he'd meant for it to be, but he didn't care at that moment. He knew he shouldn't take it out on her, but he couldn't help himself. It was her fault, as well as Yusuke's, even if he didn't want to admit it. She shouldn't have listened to those stupid bitches' and she shouldn't have doubted him in the first place. That was the reason she'd ended up inside that bar and that was the reason Yusuke had taken advantage of her. So, it was mostly Yusuke's fault, and those stupid bitches', but she'd been in the right place at the right time.

His heart hurt. He knew he'd only told her once, maybe twice, but he truly loved her. She'd managed to make him understand that there were people out there who wanted to be with him. She wanted to be with him, even though his past wasn't the best. Even though he'd gotten into lots of fights and had been apart of a gang at one time. She didn't care about that, only the things that he did now, with her, and he loved her for that. The only person who probably knew that was a man named Shuichi, better known as Kurama—the only friend he truly trusted. His heart felt like it was about to burst, wanting to cry out everything that he was feeling at that moment, but he held himself in check, knowing it wouldn't help anything. Yes, Kagome might think he wasn't going to let her go, he wasn't, but it would only make him look weak should anyone else be around.

Seeing her flinch and once again look away from him, simply staying on her knees in front of him made his heart hurt even more. Knowing that he was causing her pain, something that he'd told himself he wouldn't do. Knowing that he was probably breaking her heart by simply not answering her, by keeping silent, most likely making her think that he was waiting for the right moment to explode. He didn't want to explode on her, though. No, he wanted to explode on Yusuke, beating the shit out of the little fucker he thought was his friend. The man who'd blackmailed  _his_  woman into sleeping with him for a second time. Especially when the bastard was  _married_!

Glaring at a nearby lamppost, Hiei frowned deeply. "Get off the ground," he whispered, his voice tight. He hated seeing her so weak, so miserable, so fragile in any way. He wanted to protect her, to make her feel cherished and happy, not like this woman that was currently sobbing in front of him. When he was sure she hadn't heard him, he reached out and grabbed her arm, saying, "Kagome… get off the ground."

Kagome complied, standing when his grip tightened on her arm. She stared at him, wondering when he was going to start yelling at her. She'd only seen him yell once, and it was only because he'd been completely pissed off, but she was waiting for the storm that was sure to hit. She felt dirtier than before as he pulled her forward, beginning to walk down the street with his hand wrapped around her arm. "Hiei, where are we going…?" she whispered. She knew him better than most; she knew that he wouldn't have anything against hurting someone. It terrified her to know that he might hurt her, and she knew that she'd never tell. She deserved whatever he threw at her.

"I'm taking you home," he ground out, anger gripping him completely. "Then I'm going to go talk with Kurama." He closed his eyes, stopping for a moment, before turning to look into her eyes, "I want this to still work." He knew that she could see the pain, confusion, and hope in his eyes when he heard her gasp in surprise. Tears still streamed down her face, but he saw her smile a little, a watery smile that made him love her more.

She nodded quickly, bringing her other hand up to grasp his. Prying his fingers away from her arm she brought her left hand up to wrap her fingers around his own. "I want this to work, too, Hiei. I know you might not forgive me, but…"

"This isn't your fault," he said. "Not entirely."

"Thank you, Hiei…"

Turning away from her, he nodded a bit. He felt her squeeze his hand, before beginning to walk forward once more. He hoped beyond hope that he would be able to make this work. He hoped that every time he looked at her he didn't see the stain that had been placed upon her hands. He'd wanted to be her one and only, and Yusuke had ripped that away from him, those stupid bitches' who wanted into his pants had stolen that away from him. He hated them all. He wanted them all dead, but right now he knew he needed to calm down. For Kagome's sake, if not his own. He needed to speak with Kurama, hopefully finding a way to get around this whole event and get on with his life, being happy like he had been before just thinking about being with Kagome.

She wasn't entirely sure what was wrong with him. She hoped that he wasn't lying, but she'd never known him to be a lair, so she pushed that thought out the window before she doubted him once again. She hoped that he wasn't merely saying those words so that she wouldn't say anything. She wanted to stay with him. She wanted to be with him simply because she'd grown to love him. She wanted to so badly, but she knew now that he deserved so much better than her. He deserved a woman who would stay faithful to him always. A person wouldn't believe the words of others and be swayed away from him so easily. Yet he wanted to stay with  **her** , in hopes that they could still be happy together.

Tears once again began flooding down her cheeks; hope filling her body and mind at the thought of still being with the man she loved. Her heart cried out to his, wishing, hoping that he wouldn't break it like Inuyasha had so many times. She tightened her grip on his hand, pulling herself closer to him when she felt him pull her toward him. She smiled when his hand brought hers up so he could grasp it within his other and then wrapped his arm around her waist. Maybe there was still a chance that they could be together, happy as they once were. Maybe.

Things seemed to disappear for a fleeting moment, only the still night and the woman he loved on his mind, within his grasp. He knew it wouldn't last long, though. He did. He just hoped that once his anger returned that Yusuke was ready for him, because he wasn't going to allow him to get away with any of this. Yusuke was married, he should have known better. He shouldn't have slept with other women, and if he decided to, he shouldn't have touched  _his_  woman. The woman he loved. The woman he wasn't going to give up simply because of an idiotic bastard.


	3. Chapter 3

He blinked, watching the gothic-looking man that was now sitting on his couch. He couldn't remember a time that he'd seen Hiei this angry, but he could understand. Even he was angry, wondering what in the world Yusuke was thinking—wondering if his mind had left him for quite some time. Not only had he cheated on his wife, but he'd also slept with Hiei's girlfriend? It almost seemed a bit farfetched, but it wasn't impossible. "Are you sure that it was Yusuke? Kagome could have simply—"

"Of course it was Yusuke," Hiei snapped. "I've never seen Kagome look so broken, nor have I seen her throw herself at anyone's feet in shame. You know Kagome, she's always trying to prove to others that she isn't weak since Inuyasha tossed her, and she's always putting up a happy face, even if she's sad. Kagome didn't lie, so don't even try to convince me that she did."

"You seem very eager to defend her, Hiei." Kurama's eyes twinkled a little as he stared at his red-eyed friend. "It seems to me that you do not wish to allow her to simply slip away."

Hiei sighed, "No." Staring at Kurama, he continued, "You know that Kagome isn't like other women, Kurama. She doesn't care for the fact that I work with Sesshoumaru, or that I'm violent and rude towards others. She only cares about what I do around her, for her, and with her. She's forgiven me for many things, Kurama. She deserves to be forgiven as well."

"It is good to know that you have a heart, Hiei," Kurama smiled. He watched as Hiei scowled at him, before turning back to the cup of tea within his hand. "However, that doesn't stop the fact that Yusuke is…  _was_  your friend. Wouldn't Kagome have known him by now? She should have known she was jumping into bed with him, shouldn't she?"

Hiei wrinkled his nose. "I would have asked the same thing, if it wasn't for the fact that Yusuke doesn't visit me often. Besides, whenever he is over I rarely allow Kagome to even know he is in the house. She doesn't need to be associated with someone like him, even if he has calmed down a bit over the years." He turned his eyes, "So, she didn't know him, exactly. Perhaps seen a glimpse or two of him, but she didn't know his name or anything like that."

Kurama nodded. "Does Yusuke know her?"

"Unfortunately," Hiei growled. "Which causes me to wonder what the hell was going on in that bastard's head when he decided to sway Kagome into his bed? He should have known better, even if he had been drunk the first time." He felt like killing Yusuke more than anything talking about everything that had happened. He was positive it was Yusuke, for Kagome had said his  _entire_  name. "Then he blackmailed her into sleeping with him a second time, telling her that he'd tell me what she was doing. I would have thought you would have put those pieces together, Kurama."

Kurama frowned. Hiei hadn't told him that, or at least he hadn't heard it while the man was yelling about it all. All he'd really caught was "Yusuke cheated on Keiko with Kagome," "twice," and "that bastard touched my woman" during the entire time. Coughing lightly, hoping not to set Hiei off more than he already was, he said, "Yes, well, I would have, if you hadn't started yelling as soon as you walked in the door. I really didn't catch most of it."

"Then maybe you should pay attention more next time," Hiei grunted.

"I'll keep that in mind," Kurama replied. Bringing a hand up to brush his red hair out of his face, he looked down into the cup of tea he was holding. Bringing it up to his lips he took a sip, before turning his attention back to his old friend. He could tell that Hiei was beyond pissed off, he wanted blood, perhaps Yusuke's head, even though he'd be sent to prison for life. He'd lose everything, including Kagome, and he didn't want that to happen to him. Hiei deserved a little happiness in his life. "But maybe you should think about stepping up your relationship. Proving to others that Kagome truly is your woman, instead of simply the woman you find pleasure being around."

"What are you talking about, Kurama?" Surely he couldn't be talking about  _that_. The one thing he'd often thought he'd never, ever, do, until he met Kagome. He wasn't sure he was ready yet, though. Yes, he was going on twenty-seven, and Kagome was going on twenty-five, and he knew she wanted to marry someday, but he wasn't sure he was  _ready_. Besides, he wasn't even sure if what he and Kagome had was going to work anymore.

Smirking, Kurama said, "Perhaps you should think about… marriage?"

"Have you hit your head recently, Kurama?" Hiei asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Come now, Hiei. You know that Kagome is just waiting for you to pop the question. She does, after all, love you," Kurama replied. "That might be one of the reasons why she believed what those… what did you call them? Hm, I believe it was 'stupid bitches'. Yes, that was it, what those stupid bitches said. Not only did they tread on the fact that Kagome's still broken from her experience with Inuyasha, but that she fears that you may only wish to toss her aside. That you do not wish to marry her, but simply keep her as a side dish, because you know she'll come, loving you and all that."

"Hn." Hiei turned to look out the window, watching as a light sheet of rain began hitting the outside. He was glad that he'd managed to get Kagome home, since she probably would have caught a cold. However, he was beginning to get angry at the rain, knowing that it was hinder his quest to beat Yusuke's head into the pavement. Yes, he knew he couldn't do much to him, but he'd make sure he understood that touching Kagome ever again would end with consequences, deadly consequences.

Kurama smiled, knowing that Hiei was thinking about the decision he would have to make. To make sure that Kagome never doubted him again, and to make sure that no one ever touched her without him knowing. His thoughts, however, turned to something else. Another woman that he was sure would be hurting as soon as she found out about this. The woman that Yusuke was married to. Keiko, a woman he'd once thought about dating, until she showed interest in his friend.

He knew it might end up being a cheap shot, but maybe showing Keiko that there were other men in the world would be a good thing for her. Maybe she would give up Yusuke and find someone who would treat her better. Maybe not him, but he could hope, even just a little bit. Besides, it might show Yusuke that there were things in life that he just couldn't have with the way he wished to do things. It would be a good lesson for him, and Yusuke needed as many as he could get after this.

"I do have one more question, Hiei." Kurama watched as Hiei's attention was brought back to him, before continuing, "Are you sure it was our Yusuke?"

"Yes, Kagome said, 'Urameshi Yusuke'," Hiei growled. "She might have seen him, but she did not know his name, I made sure of that. I…" he glared for a moment, "I probably wouldn't have believed her if it wasn't for that."

"I see." Kurama turned to take another sip of his tea, knowing that his decision had just been made. Even if it screwed Yusuke out of his marriage and completely messed up his relationship, he was going to find out where Keiko was. If she knew, or if she didn't. He would make sure that he would be the one to tell her if she didn't know, and then he would show her that there were men out there willing to stay faithful to one woman. Yusuke might get into his face about it, but there was really nothing he could do, not after what he'd done.

He was positive Hiei and him could smash his life to pieces. Shuichi, nicknamed Kurama when little, knew that it would be something he would willing do. Even if he normally wouldn't do something similar, he would do this to show Yusuke that he couldn't continue his way of life. Not if he wanted to ever keep a relationship strong. Not if he ever wished to show his face again.

* * *

_Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!_

 

He clenched his hand, watching every move that he made, seeing the fear in Kagome's eyes as she did as he told her. The fear of Hiei truly believing that she did such things often. He hadn't seen it before, but he truly felt guilt and realization washed over him as he watched the video. He hadn't even known it was on. He hadn't known that someone had kept it on record. He knew that Rini had been playing with it earlier that day, but he hadn't thought that she might have left it on, recording as well. Hell, he wasn't even sure how the thing had managed to record for so long without the battery dying sooner.

And it was in that moment that Yusuke realized just how far he'd gone in his search for a little excitement. Yes, it had been to keep his marriage together and happy, but it was still something he hadn't put into concept. He'd went almost thirty minutes after Keiko had left to find Kagome, and it was nearly an hour and a half after they left that he returned home with her. Which meant that he was truly screwing up his life. He'd been so happy that he had found excitement that he hadn't even realized exactly how far he was going to get it.

Now Keiko was gone, taking Rini with her. Sure, she was with Yukina, but that could easily change. Besides, thought Yukina was a nice girl and would help any of her friends, he wasn't sure just how long it would take him to fix his relationship. He was the one with the job, not Keiko. He grinned to himself while thinking about it. That meant that Keiko would either have to find a job while staying at Yukina's bakery, or she'd have to come running home to him. She wasn't the type to mooch off her friend, no matter how much she wanted to stay away from him.

Turning the tape off, Yusuke couldn't help but wonder how Kagome was going after all this. He'd known that she was shamed with herself, and there was always the possibility that she'd go straight to Hiei and tell him everything. She didn't seem like the type to keep secrets from the one she loved for long, which meant he'd have a very angry, very violent, guy coming after him very soon. Though he hated himself for using her for his own pleasure, he sent out a small amount of sympathy for her when she spilled to Hiei. He hoped that he hadn't gotten her hurt, even though he had enjoyed his time with her, for he knew that Hiei was sure to blow. He just hoped that the love Hiei felt for her was enough to keep her from ending up on the receiving end of his anger, because he knew he could handle it and he would be the next victim Hiei came after.

He didn't even know why he was worrying about her and her relationship. He should have been worrying about himself, but he was worrying about her. The stupid bitch shouldn't have allowed others to tell her such stupid things and then ended up crying in a place where any drunken bastard was sure to take advantage of her. She should have struck out at them, accusing them of lies. That was what he would have done if he were in her shoes. He shook his head; he didn't even know why he remembered all these things, since she'd told him when he was drunk and getting dunker at the time.

He smiled bitterly to himself, stopping the video from going any further by hitting the pause button. He looked up at the woman that was beneath him within the screen and growled. There was no way he'd chosen Kagome to be his outlet simply because he found her attractive. That was the reason why Hiei wouldn't allow him to go near her whenever he visited, because he'd once mentioned that she looked like a nice piece of ass. He wondered if Hiei even remembered that and if he found out about the crime he'd committed against him if he'd use it against him.

Maybe it had simply been Kagome's nature that drew him to her. She was, after all, the only person to ever draw the cold-hearted Hiei out of his icy shell. He'd never thought that anyone would have ever been able to accomplish such a feat, especially not a woman like her. A woman more defiant than Keiko, with a fire that burned beneath her very flesh as if it were apart of her; a very attractive woman that had been innocent until Hiei got his claws into her.

His mind swirled as he thought about it. Maybe the reason he'd gone after Kagome when he saw her and found out the reason why she was there was because he was attracted to her. Not only for her body but the fact that she had a beautiful soul. She was a woman to be cherished and maybe, just maybe, the reason he'd gone after her not once, but twice, was because he  _wanted_  her. Wanted to take her away from Hiei…

Jerking himself away from those thoughts, Yusuke quickly jumped to his feet. He needed to find a way to get his wife back, not think about the reasons why he would have gone after his friend's girl. He needed Keiko, not Kagome! He didn't want Kagome! He'd simply wanted some more excitement in his life and he'd found it, at a cost. A big cost—a really, really, _really_  big cost. He knew now that he shouldn't have done it, and he was going to stop thinking about these things so that he could find a way to fix his marriage. He'd find a way, and hopefully then his stupid body would stop thinking that a girl who loved his friend was good-looking.

God only knew if he'd succeed.

The tiny pitter-patter of the rain began to hit the windows, almost like it was mocking him in some fashion. He had a sinking feeling that nothing was going to go right for him from now on. Yes, he'd still have his job, even if he did work underneath that stupid nineteen-year-old, Koenma, but he didn't care about that at the moment. His job was very important, but there were other things in his life, and he was thinking about asking for a small vacation. As a headache began to form, he knew he'd need it.

He only hoped that he'd be able to survive the anger that was sure to come his way. Not only from Keiko, but also from everyone else that learned of what he did. Yes, there were probably people that would be happy to know what he did, but there were those who would hate him, despise him, and wish to have him simply disappear. Well, he was Urameshi Yusuke, and there was no way he was going to end up doing such a thing. He was going to fight for the things he wanted, even if he was slightly confused as to why he felt like he didn't entirely want his wife and daughter back.

* * *

Her hand reached up, knocking on the door as she looked at the rain beginning to fall. She held onto Rini's with her other, silently wishing that she didn't have to be placed into the middle of all this. It wasn't good for her, she knew that, but there was no way she was going to let her stay with Yusuke. Not when she knew that he was bringing women to  _their_ home in order to fuck the shit out of them. She knew that Yusuke would be quite stunned with her choice of words but at the moment she didn't fucking care.

 

"Mommy?"

"Yes, Rini?" Keiko asked, looking down at the little girl at her side.

Rini blinked, wondering why her parents were fighting, again. "Why did we leave when daddy got home, mommy?"

Sighing, Keiko turned her eyes toward the door, wishing that Yukina would hurry up so that she didn't have to go into detail. However, she knew that there was the possibility that Yukina had gone to bed early and had to come down to the back door. She didn't want the neighbors to know of her life, so this was the best option at the moment. "Because, daddy did something that he shouldn't have, Rini," she said. "Daddy should have known that it would make mommy mad, but he did it anyway."

"What did daddy do, mommy?"

Frowning, Keiko squeezed her daughter's hand. "That's something that only daddy and I should know, Rini. Its something that only adults should even be aware of." Knowing that her daughter's curiosity would end up with more questions, she continued, "You see, Rini, daddy went  _out_  with another woman that mommy doesn't know. He stayed with her without letting mommy know. We're going to stay with Yukina in order to make sure that daddy won't do it again, because its something that he shouldn't have done. Not when he's married to me."

"Mommy, I don't under—"

"I know, Rini. I know," Keiko said. "But you'll understand someday."

"Ok, mommy," Rini smiled. She hoped that her daddy got around to apologizing; like the last time her parents had fought, because she didn't like seeing them apart. She wanted them to happy, but most of the time it didn't seem like they'd ever be happy. But she knew one good thing about them fighting and that was she got to stay with her Godmother, Yukina. She loved staying with her, especially since she got to go to the bakery with her on Sundays in order to help as much as she could.

Hearing the faint click of the lock, Keiko sighed in relief, waiting for Yukina to finally open the door. It swung open slowly, before the blue-haired woman's face finally came into view. Smiling, Keiko muttered, "Hi, Yukina…"

"Keiko?" Yukina asked. "What are you doing out at this time of night? Especially when it's raining…"

"Yusuke," Keiko frowned. "He… he…" She burst into tears again; feeling Yukina's arms wrap around her while Rini clung to her waist. It did nothing to help her weeping heart, and she continued to cry, feeling Yukina pat her back in hopes of calming her down. "Yusuke… he slept with some woman named… Kagome…" she whimpered into Yukina's ear, before feeling the woman tense against her.

"Kagome?" Yukina stiffened further. "As in Higurashi Kagome?"

"I don't know. I don't know," Keiko whined.

Yukina pulled away, gently rubbing at Keiko's arms. Being the generous person that she was, she said, "Please come inside, Keiko. I'm sure that you would make better use of the guest room than anyone else at the moment." She hoped to god it wasn't Higurashi Kagome. She wasn't quite sure what would happen to Yusuke if it were, but she was sure that his life would become a living nightmare. Higurashi Kagome was a very nice girl, and she knew there were only a few things that could actually get her to do something like that. Still, Kagome was an uncommon name, and she hoped that she could get as much information out of Keiko as she could. Maybe then she could help two relationships instead of simply one.

"Thank you, Yukina. I don't know what I'd do without you," Keiko whimpered, bringing a hand up to wipe at her face. She leaned down to pull her daughter into her arms, knowing that her presence would help calm her. "I thought about going to Shizuru's, but she's probably with her boyfriend right now, so I decided against it. I don't know where I'd go if you wouldn't allow us to stay."

"Of course you can stay here, Keiko. I'd never turn a friend away. Not when I have room for them," Yukina smiled. "Now, why don't we get you settled in, I'm sure that you've had a very long day and need some rest. You'll feel better in the morning." Patting the other woman on the arm, she smiled brighter, hoping that she would be calm enough to answer her questions in the morning. She knew a Higurashi Kagome, current girlfriend to Hiei, but she wanted to make sure they were one and the same before she went asking questions. She'd most likely do more harm than good by doing that.

Nodding, Keiko said, "Our things are out in the car. I'll go get t—"

Yukina grabbed her before she could turn around. "Its beginning to rain, Keiko. You can get your things in the morning. For now, please, get some rest. Then you can tell me all about this, since I'm sure that you don't want it weighing down your mind for the rest of your stay." Giving another small smile, she added, "Besides, you don't want to get sick on top of everything, do you?"

"No, I guess not. Thank you," Keiko nodded. "I really appreciate this."

"Its no problem," Yukina replied. Turning her attention to the small girl still clinging to Keiko's waist, she reached out to smooth down her hair. "Now, Rini… why don't we go get you ready for bed. I believe I still have the pair of pajamas that you left here from your last stay. You can wear those, while your mommy wears something of mine."

"Oh, you don't have to, Yukina. I'm fine in my own," Keiko frowned.

"Its nothing, Keiko. Besides, I only have to wear one outfit a night, not all of them," Yukina laughed. "And it will take the worry that you'd be uncomfortable off my mind. Please?"

"Alright." Feeling her lips turn upward in a smile as Yukina took Rini's hand in order to take her upstairs, Keiko wiped at her eyes again. She could already feel the worry in her mind beginning to fade away, knowing that Yukina would allow them to stay. She knew that the girl was more worried about everyone else than herself, but at the moment she liked her that way. Yes, normally she'd ask her to think of herself, but at the moment she was happy that she didn't have to go back home. Because it meant she could be away from Yusuke and hopefully get some of this sorted out before she decided what she was going to do next.

Stepping forward, she went to the stairs. Placing her foot up onto the first step, she turned to the backdoor, almost wishing that Yusuke would come beating on it at that moment. A small, bitter, smile touched her face, for she knew that he'd probably sit at home waiting for her to come to him. Well, she wasn't going to do that. He'd gotten himself into this mess, and he was going to have to come to her to get himself out of it. She just hoped he wouldn't be stubborn enough to leave her all alone.

* * *

"Oh, Kagome," Sango smiled. "It'll be alright, I'm sure. Besides, from what I saw, I don't think that Hiei will leave you like that idiot did. He's a good man, even if you can't see it at first." She watched her as Kagome took another drink from her hot chocolate, her eyes gazing into it like it'd give her all the answers. She hated to see her like this, she wanted to beat the crap out of Inuyasha for making her think all the things she now thought, but most of all she wanted to beat the crap out of this Yusuke.

 

Kagome might have only been her stepsister, but she loved her. Sure, at first she'd hated the fact that her father was going to marry another woman after her mother died, but she'd come to like it, love it in fact. She'd lived on the shrine since she was six, each day coming to like her new sister and brother more and more. She had missed Kohaku more than her mother after the car crash, but she'd come to understand the need her father had. The love that he'd come to have for Kagome's mother, and then she'd come to love them all like true family. For that she would do anything for Kagome, but she wasn't sure what she should do at the moment. Not when Kagome wanted her to stay out of it.

Another tear streaked down her face and fell into her cup, while she sniffled. "I don't know why he'd even want to continue the relationship, Sango." Giving her a look, she smiled just a little, "But… he said that he wanted to… I'm not sure what to think at the moment."

"Well, I've never known Hiei to lie, Kagome, and neither have you," Sango said. "You should believe him. If you want to make it work, then it will, but if you continue to rip yourself apart over this, it isn't going to. I know that you might not want to hear it, Kagome, but the reason you're in this mess is because you didn't believe him the first time. Maybe its time that you trust him completely, instead of allowing everything that Inuyasha did to you to cloud the things you want?"

Setting her cup onto the table, Kagome folded her arms and laid her head down onto them. She stared at the nearest wall, knowing that Sango was right. She should trust Hiei, but she wasn't sure what she should do. Not when the cruel words that Inuyasha had always said while they were together continued to run through her head. "I know…"

Sango felt anger at those words, knowing that Kagome was merely trying to get out of the conversation. "No, Kagome, you don't know!" she snapped. "Damn it, I don't even know why I'm trying anymore, Kagome. I love you, I do, but you've got to get over that asshole. I know that you have to see him every time that the family gets together, but damn it, that doesn't mean that you can't move on! Hiei is good for you, and you're good for him, yet you continue to think about Inuyasha! Maybe its better if you do just break it off. Continue to live in the past and never come out of it again!" She looked at the stunned face of her stepsister, and deflated, "Oh, Kagome, I didn't mean…"

Shaking her head, Kagome smiled a little, "No, you're right, Sango. I just can't get the words to leave me alone. Every time I think about what I've done they all come flooding back."

"Kagome, I think that's only because you keep trying to hurt yourself. You want to make the words seem true, but they aren't. Everyone makes mistakes—no one can be perfect, no matter how much they try. Inuyasha was an idiot, he always will be, but you're no longer with Inuyasha." Sango sighed, before continuing, "Hiei is an entirely different person. Yes, on the outside he might seem even worse than Inuyasha, but I can see the way he looks at you. Inuyasha once told you he loved you, I was there, but he didn't mean it because he kept glancing at Kikyo during the time. Hiei has said the same thing, but I can see it in his eyes, Kagome. He does love you. You should allow him to, instead of trying to keep yourself from being hurt again."

"But you just said I was trying to hurt myself," Kagome smiled. "Doesn't that contradict everything else you just said?" She enjoyed whenever Sango rambled because she usually ended up stringing her words together so that she was saying something completely different. It was fun to correct her.

Scowling, Sango growled, "Yes. What I meant is you're trying to protect your heart from being hurt, but in the process you're hurting yourself. You know what I meant, Kagome, you're just trying to make fun of me."

"Yes, maybe I am," laughing, Kagome felt herself calm. Enough that she could understand what Sango was saying, even if she didn't want to admit it entirely. Yes, she wanted to make sure she wasn't hurt again, but she wasn't sure if she was actually hurting herself by doing so. Then again, Sango could usually see right through her.

Sango smiled, "See, there's the Kagome I know and love."

Lifting her head from the table, Kagome asked, "Sango… do you actually think that I might be able to make this all work?"

"If you never do it again and reassure your protective boyfriend, then yes," Sango nodded. "Hiei will come to see that you simply allowed a few pretty words to sway you, but you love him, not this Yusuke person. He might also come to see that he shouldn't allow you to hang around those stupid women who seem to think he's a piece of meat. None of them are even fit to be put into the friend category; they need to be put into the 'going to hell' category." She smirked, listening as Kagome giggled at her words. "Besides, if he really loves you, then he's not going to let you get away. If he does… well, then he's a bigger fool than even Inuyasha was."


	4. Chapter 4

Yukina smiled at the little girl sitting at her kitchen table, quietly waiting for breakfast to be done. Rini was such a sweet girl; she didn't deserve to be put into the middle of everything that happened between Keiko and Yusuke. But there was no stopping it, and she knew that sooner of later the fireworks were going to really fly. Especially if Yusuke came over demanding that he could see his family, since she wasn't going to let him in until she heard the entire story. She wasn't even sure she was going to let him in once she did.

Glancing at the staircase once more, she hoped that Keiko wasn't going to keep herself in the guest room all day. She knew that she needed time to herself, but she hoped that she'd be able to get some answers out of her soon. At least then she'd be able to help her, or at least be able to give her some advice. Not only that, but she might be able to help out Kagome, if it was the same Kagome she knew.

"So, Rini, how was going to see your grandmother and everyone?" she asked, turning to give the girl a small glance. She saw how her face brightened instantly, obviously very excited to tell anyone and everyone what she'd done and how much fun she'd had. It was nice to have the distraction, listening to the little girl as she recalled everyone one of her little adventures while away. At least listening to Rini allowed her to think about something other than the things she hoped wasn't happening.

Yes, she had never expected Yusuke to be faithful for such a large amount of time. He was more of the type to have more than woman in his life when she'd first met him, which was why she was surprised he had married. Now, she felt terrible for not mentioning it to Keiko sooner. Maybe she could have convinced the woman that Yusuke would have most likely done something like this sooner, thus saving her the pain that she was now feeling? Or maybe she could have simply ruined a marriage if she  _had_  been wrong—to bad it turned out she had been wrong on  _that_.

"Godmother Yukina?"

"Oh, yes, Rini?" Yukina smiled, turning to give her a small glance as she continued with her work. It would do no good to burn anything she was going cooking, especially now when there were other people in the house that wanted to eat it. And if she could burn eggs, she could easily burn any of the items she made while at the bakery.

Rini twiddled her fingers together, looking down at the tabletop, as if it were more interesting than anything else at the moment. "Do you think mommy and daddy will stop fighting?" she asked.

Yukina sighed. It was an innocent question, she knew that, but it would be hard to truly convince the child that they were going to be just fine. Not when she had a sickening feeling that the only one who might bounce back was Kagome, if it were the Kagome she knew. Yes, Keiko would with time, but she doubted that this time her friend was going to let Yusuke push her around. He was going to have to fix this if he wanted to keep his family, but that stubborn man most likely would have it all fall apart by the time he tried.

"…Godmother Yukina?"

"I'm sorry, Rini," Yukina smiled.

Rini frowned, "'Bout what?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer your question, Rini. Only time will tell if your parents manage to get through this," Yukina said.

"I hope they do," Rini muttered. "I don't like it when mommy and daddy fight."

"Yes." Yukina nodded, "I hope so, too, Rini. I hope so, too."

Sniffling, the little girl reached up to wipe her nose with her sleeve. "I've never seen mommy so mad. I… I don't think mommy will ever forgive daddy, and then we won't be a family anymore." She was in tears by the time she'd finished, staring at her Godmother as she turned off the stove and set the pan aside. Reaching out, she waited for Yukina to hug her, for she knew that that was what she was going to receive, and she happily gave into it, wanting the comfort others could give her. "I want them to stop fighting and be happy."

"I know. I know," Yukina patted her back, trying to comfort the young girl as she clung to her. "I'm sure that everything will turn out alright, though. Sooner or later you and your mother will be happy again, whether its with your father, or…"

"Or?" Rini stiffened.

Nodding, Yukina rocked the girl a little. "Sometimes people just don't work out, Rini, and when that happens they go on with their lives away from each other. I know it will mostly likely be hard, and it will take a while to get used to it, but if it happens, there might not be any going back. They might decide to after a while, but that depends on if they can overcome this."

Rini nodded, though she really didn't understand some of the speech. She was a little girl who wanted her family to be like all the other families she'd seen on TV, and at school. She'd always been told that when younger her father was aggressive, whatever that meant, and got into a lot of fights, but she never understood why others would say that. And her mother was the kindest mommy on the whole block, which was why she loved her. Why they couldn't be happy and not fight was something that she couldn't understand. She wanted them to be together, yet she was afraid deep down that they weren't going to stay together. That soon they wouldn't be a family anymore and everything would change.

She didn't want that.

* * *

Keiko twisted the shirt in her hands, her mind going back to the images she'd seen. They played over and over again within her head, and she wanted it to stop. She knew that something like this could have happened, she'd seen all the signs, but she'd thought that Yusuke would have stayed faithful to the vow he'd made. The one he'd told her the first time he'd told her he loved her. He'd promised to love her and only her for the rest of his life, and then he'd asked her to marry him. She'd been so happy, but now she wondered why she'd been happy at all.

Why had she given into his sweet words so easily? Then again, she knew that was a stupid question, because she knew it was because by then she'd fallen in love. She'd truly loved Yusuke, and she still loved him, but she wasn't so sure what his feelings for her were anymore. Not after finding out he'd been cheating on her, and she didn't even know for how long. He could have first started stabbing her in the back a month ago, a year, or three years. That didn't make her feel any better, though. Neither did the fact that she was afraid that he no longer loved her, or that he'd been wrong in his feelings, and wasn't going to come after her.

Looking toward the door, she told herself that she'd need to go downstairs soon. Even if Yusuke wasn't going to apologize and try to make anything up, she still had a daughter to raise. Rini needed her. Besides, she couldn't alienate everyone simply because her heart hurt and she felt like she was falling apart inside. Especially not her daughter, since she was probably confused, sad, and hoping with all her heart. Keiko knew that she needed to be there for her, even if she wasn't truly there for herself.

Nodding to herself, she made sure to wipe at her eyes, knowing that Rini would be off to school soon, but she didn't want her to know that she'd been crying. When she stood, she wondered why she was even waiting, in her heart, for Yusuke to come for her. She knew that's what she'd do, no matter how many times she'd slapped him and called him a pervert when they were dating. She'd known that there was a possibility of this happening, yet she hadn't seen the signs. All those times he'd told her he had something to do when she had wanted to do some fun activity with him—she was sure now he wasn't really doing what he'd said he'd be doing. She shouldn't be waiting for him at all; she should be allowing her heart to heal and then finding someone who would love her.

She gave a jerking nod to herself. If Yusuke wanted to be stubborn and wait for her to come to him, then he'd be waiting forever. If he didn't come for her by the time she was positive she could face a relationship again, then she'd divorce him and find someone who'd be faithful to her. She'd find someone else, and then she'd be able to ask anyone who asked who he or she were talking about whenever they talked about Urameshi Yusuke. Yes, for she'd make sure to even change her last name back to Yukimura.

Yusuke would be erased from her life.

Deep down, though, she wished that he came for her before that happened. She still loved him. She still wanted to be with him. She wanted to be a family with him and Rini, and hopefully have more children in the future. However, the choice wasn't hers to make, but her husband's, and she could only hope he made the right one.

* * *

Sighing, she once again swung the broom in her hands, sweeping the cobblestone around the shrine. She wore the outfit of the miko; promising Sango that she'd put herself to work once more, even though she'd stopped doing the job once she met Hiei. It seemed her stepsister was trying to get her mind away from the guilt that she felt, and it was starting to work, until  _he_  showed up—Sango's boyfriend.

Her eyes glanced up at them, watching as the smirking Bankotsu wrapped his arm around her blushing stepsister. She  _almost_  wished that Hiei was that affectionate in public, but she knew that he wouldn't be. That was just the way he was, and she was happy that he accepted her as she was, unlike Inuyasha. Always comparing her to her cousin, who's shown up more times than she could count whenever he was over, toward the end of their relationship. She was lucky to have found Hiei, even though he'd glared at her and called her a few names that she wasn't fond of when they'd first met. True, they still had their arguments, and they must likely always would, but he was still dear to her, no matter how he acted in public.

Besides, she was happy for Sango. Bankotsu was a lot better boyfriend than her last boyfriend, Miroku. At least this one didn't go around groping everything that looked like a female from behind. Turned out he was now with a woman named Botan, who'd put him in his place quickly. She was happy for all her friends, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something in her life that she wasn't getting. Something that she wanted, but she felt she wouldn't get if she continued on the way she was. Yes, her life had been hard so far, and she'd experienced a lot of heartache, but she should have been happy now, shouldn't she? She should be happy that her friends were happy and that she had a boyfriend that wanted to stay with her, even after she'd mistaken his anger and words as a sign that he'd been cheating on her, and ended up sleeping with another man.

Her hands tightened on the broom. It truly was her fault. She wouldn't be surprised if Hiei decided that he no longer wanted anything to do with her and left her, but he'd most likely make her life a whole lot worse. She could only bet how much time it would take everyone to know of her crime, and then she'd never be the same. Who knew, maybe she'd simply ignore it, or maybe the guilt would get her so bad that she lost herself to insanity. A small smirk formed on her lips, as she thought that she was probably going insane already with just trying to keep her life as it used to be, before all this happened.

"Hey."

She looked up suddenly, seeing Bankotsu leaning on a bench not far away from her. He was staring at her in a brotherly way, and she knew it was because he'd said he felt as if they'd known each other all their life, as siblings, since he'd started dating Sango. She smiled, forgetting her guilt for a moment, and tilted her head a bit to one side. "Oh. Ah, is there something you needed, Bankotsu?" she asked.

"You look kind of down," he frowned. "Are you alright, Kagome? Sango said that you haven't been yourself since last night, and you've been doing all the work today. That's not like you, ya know."

She blinked, and then looked down at the broom in her hands. She had been doing all the work that day, trying to escape the feelings that she knew were going to haunt her for some time. Even if she managed to stay with Hiei for the rest of her life, she was going to feel the guilt quite well for a long time. It would be her punishment for going against her mother's teachings. "I guess I have," she mumbled, "I hadn't noticed."

His frown deepened, "Is it Hiei? Has that bastard done something to you, 'cause I'll beat him into the pavement if he has?" His eyes bore into hers, watching as she flinched. "I'm right, aren't I? Tell me, Kagome, so I have a reason to go after his ass."

"Bankotsu, please, don't cuss here." She turned her head away, continuing to sweep. "Hiei has done nothing to me, you don't have to worry about that. If you want to know, you can ask Sango. I don't feel like telling you what's wrong right now, okay."

"Fine, but don't think this is over, Kagome. You're like the little sister I never had, and I'm going to protect you." He nodded his head in agreement to himself. "Just tell me when you need me, alright? I'll come as fast as I possibly can."

"Thank you, Bankotsu," she smiled. "I really appreciate that, though you don't have to."

He smiled, "I want to. Especially if its that bastard Inuyasha." Punching one hand into the other, he grinned, "I want to pound his face in a few million times. I hate him; have since I first met the guy." He gave her a thoughtful look, "But I like Hiei. Don't know why, he seems a lot like Inuyasha, but I still like him. He's good for you, ya know."

"Sango told me the same thing," she said.

"Well, she's an observation woman, my Sango," he continued to grin. "I do have to go now, though. I told Jakotsu that I'd do something with him, though I can't seem to remember what it was exactly. I can only hope that my brother doesn't make me go out  _hunting_  with him, ya know?"

"Yeah, good luck with that, Bankotsu," Kagome said, waving once he gave her a small wave, and turned to leave. Sighing once more, her smile turned into a frown, and she went back to her work. She had a duty to this shrine, since she had lived there most of her life, and the Goshinboku was her favorite tree. She hoped that she'd be able to spend time underneath that tree once she was old and her children and their children would be able to find comfort there. She hoped, but she knew that hoping wouldn't get her anywhere, since she'd hoped Hiei hadn't been cheating on her, she'd made a mistake, and she'd ended up in good 'ld Guiltvalley.

Another sigh pulled itself from her lips, and she wondered what she was going to do the rest of the day. She couldn't go on cleaning until she exhausted herself until she passed out—alright, she could, but she didn't want to—and there was really nothing to do at the moment. Not when she was visiting a valley that she didn't like to visit, since Anger Port or Embarrassment City were much better places to stay in. At least those didn't stay buried underneath her skin for more than a few days, whereas guilt struck her for months. She knew, she was still guilty about accidentally running over Buyo III with the car, and that was two years ago.

She almost giggled to herself, thinking she was silly for making up names for her feelings. She'd done it since she was little, though they were always little things, usually named after objects—now she was naming them after cities and things; that was  _so_  much more mature. She smiled a bit, happy that she'd managed to stop thinking about the one thing that was eating away at her underneath her skin, and continued with her work. She did have a large amount of space to still sweep, since she'd been actually sweeping the same spot for quite some time. It only got so clean.

Glancing at the broom in her hands once more, Kagome wished that she could just sweep her troubles away. Allow them to be swept up into the air and never return, instead of life being so hard. Then she wouldn't be guilty, and then she could have erased what she'd done and hopefully done it over again, but this time slapping that blasted Urameshi Yusuke and telling him to go to Hell. At least then she wouldn't feel this way.

 _Great way to get your mind off it, Kagome_ , she mumbled to herself. It just figured that she'd continue to go after it, allowing the guilt to take hold again and again and again, no matter how many times she actually managed to stop thinking about it for a short while. It wasn't going to go away, nor was the fact that she'd slept with another man, which was the reason why she'd scrubbed herself like crazy in the bathtub after her talk with Sango. She still felt dirty, though, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to think of herself as attractive in Hiei's eyes.

Her head bowed in shame. She'd truly gone off the deep end by listening to those women she'd once thought were her friends. Sure, they were friendly enough, but they had probably only let her become friends with them because they'd known that after so much time she'd listen and believe anything they said. They'd known and she'd allowed them to string her along, and possibly ruin her relationship. No, now that she thought about it, her relationship was probably screwed, and not in the good way.

"Hn, are you going to sweep that spot all day, or pay attention to your guests?"

Her head snapped up, and she looked at Hiei, standing about ten feet from her. Dread filled her, knowing that though it hadn't even been a day, he decided. Well, she'd embrace it and never date again, then. Obviously, if Inuyasha couldn't stand her, and Hiei felt that she was going to cheat on him ever again, which she wouldn't do if they had a chance, then what good were men anyway? People always went on about how there were other fish in the sea, but damn it, if she couldn't have the man she knew she loved, then she didn't want another one.

"Hello, Hiei," she smiled.  _Here we go._

His look became suspicious, and he stepped toward her. "Why are you looking at me like that? Are you alright?" A flash went through his eyes, though it was too fast for Kagome to identify. For a moment she could have thought it was fear, but why would he fear anything. He then glared at her for not answering, and Kagome smiled sheepishly. "Hn. Answer the question, woman."

"Nothings wrong with me, Hiei, though I'm not so sure about you. I don't think you'd ever come to the shrine," she smiled, trying to make it better, "especially not on a good day." Her smile slipped a little, "Speaking of which, why are you here?"

"Can I not come see  _my_  woman?" Hiei asked, lifting an eyebrow. His arms crossed over his chest, wondering what she would say. He knew that she always surprised him, and he wouldn't be all that surprised if she did this time. But he hoped to whatever there was, whether God or another being of high power, that she wasn't going to say 'no'.

"I didn't know you cared so much," she muttered.

His look intensified. "Hn, idiot. Of course I care, I've alwa…" He stopped, feeling foolish. He shouldn't have to spell it out for her; she should have already known that. Really, she must be going blind or something, along with growing more naïve, and maybe a bit distant. "I came to see if you'd like to… to go somewhere," he frowned. He wasn't used to asking her places, she usually knew when he wanted to take her someplace, but he'd noticed that she wasn't paying much attention to anything, and he suspected it was because she thought she wasn't good enough for him now and was laden with guilt over the entire thing. He didn't care what she'd done, he blamed Yusuke, and Yusuke would pay soon enough.

"You want to… go somewhere?" she asked, turning to look at him. She hoped that he'd just said what she thought he'd said, for that meant that he did want to make it work. He still wanted to go places with her and perhaps show to anyone else that she was off the market, therefore no one should cross that line  _ever again_. She would, if he decided to stay with her, make sure she never did it again. She'd be faithful in everything, no matter what it was.

"…Yes," he replied.

Smiling, happy she'd been wrong about him letting her go; she nodded. "Alright, just let me get out of this outfit and I'll be right out." Her guilt was forgotten for a moment, and she felt her heart soar. "We can go for ice cream or something." She saw him straighten a bit and knew she'd hit a soft spot. Ice cream was a cure for everything with him, but she knew it wouldn't cure her.

She was happy, though, to have another chance with him.


	5. Chapter 5

Yusuke clenched his hand, wandering down the street for no apparent reason. He'd had a rough night, and wondered why the hell Keiko hadn't come back to him already. He was sure that Rini was most likely sad that he was gone, but Keiko should have come back to him. But no, instead she leaves him to a rough night with lots of tossing and turning, and a little sleep. God, he was tired, but he was glad that he'd been allowed to take his vacation time. He had a month and two weeks to fix his life before his work once more came into the picture, but he would wait for at least half of it before he went after his wife. Keiko should know that he was too stubborn to show he cared.

If he was right, though, it appeared that his wife was going to be as stubborn as he was. He didn't want to go after her, especially since he was the man in the relationship, and she should be the one to come to him. Then again, he was the one that put them all into this stupid mess, so he could be looking at this all from the wrong angle. Shaking his head, Yusuke snorted, knowing that that wasn't true, or at least thinking he knew, he wasn't so sure about any of his decisions anymore. The first one that'd be made, even if he had been intoxicated at the time, had been very bad, and he'd made it worse, but Keiko should see that he wanted her. He had done it to help  _her_ ; therefore she should come to him, instead of the other way around.

His subconscious added that Keiko probably didn't know that, but he'd been married to her for five years, and she knew everything about him. If she couldn't put the pieces together, then well… he didn't know. Shaking his head, Yusuke wondered just what in the hell he was going to do for the time he'd wait for Keiko to finally stop being such a bitch and realize she loved him. There wasn't much he could do, except think about what he'd done and make himself feel worse, which wasn't something he really wanted to do at the moment. Especially not when he felt like he was being followed constantly after had convinced himself that he did not want Kagome he wanted his wife.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he wished that Kuwabara were still alive. He didn't like to think about it, but he did wish Kuwabara were there to distract him for a while. Most likely, he knew, Kurama and Hiei already knew of what he'd done, and they probably hated him right now, so there was no way he was going to either of them—especially not Hiei. Still, Kuwabara would have been able to distract him quite easily. Hell, Kuwabara would have probably been able to knock some sense into him before he started this whole thing in the first place, but the guy was dead. His best friend wasn't coming back, no matter how much he missed him.

Yusuke knew he was doing it again, making himself feel bad. He was beginning to believe he was doing it on purpose. Probably because he knew Keiko was in a lot of pain, knowing what he'd done and having seen it on that stupid tape, and he wanted to make himself feel the same way. He wanted to, even if it killed him. At least then he could get away from life and never have to fucking worry about it again. He knew he couldn't do that, though, not when he had Keiko and Rini to consider. They still needed him, even if they didn't realize it. His daughter might, but he was positive Keiko was trying to convince herself to get over him.

Stopping for a moment, Yusuke couldn't help but feel his heart twist at that thought. Keiko  _was_  probably trying to convince herself that she didn't need a cheating pervert like himself. Keiko  _was_  probably doing a very good job of it. Keiko had always been good at that whenever she needed to forget about something that someone said or did. There was a high possibility that she was still very good at it, which meant she'd probably be able  _to_  convince herself she didn't want or need him. His lips parted a little, his breath quickening as his heart told him to rush to Yukina's and hope to God he could convince Keiko otherwise, but his head told him he was being paranoid.

"No, damn it," he whispered to himself. He didn't care what his heart told him at this point, not when Keiko walked out on him because he was trying to help her—them. If Keiko decided that she didn't want to be with him, then he would be fine with that.  _No_ , he shook his head; he wouldn't be fine with that. He knew he wouldn't, though he silently wished it were true. But he wouldn't give in simply because his world felt like it was coming down.

Urameshi Yusuke never backed down from a challenge. He wouldn't back down from the one he was getting from his wife. If Keiko wanted to be stubborn, then he'd be twice as stubborn, even when he hoped she'd come running back into his arms. She'd cry that she'd been wrong to leave him, even when she hated him for doing what he did, and then they'd be happy again. They'd have more children, and he'd find a different way to find excitement in his life, instead of being unfaithful to her once again.

He knew there was going to be a bump in that road, though. Kagome loved Hiei; she'd told him many times when she'd tried to convince him not to go through with sleeping with her the second time. Kagome was sure to break down and tell Hiei everything, which meant he'd probably lost a friend and gained an enemy. Hiei wouldn't allow him to simply walk away from this without first getting a bruise the size of Kyoto, or something removed from his body. Hiei was going to be a big problem, which meant Kurama was also going to be a problem. Yeah, he'd joked about it when he'd first met them, thinking they were a homosexual couple or something, until Hiei punched him in the face that was, but they were close friends. Whatever Hiei knew, Kurama knew, and Kurama got  _very_  disappointed in him whenever he even looked at another woman. That meant he'd not only gained one enemy, but two, and possibly three if Kagome decided she also wanted a piece of him, though he doubted she would, from what he knew, she was a very kind and compassionate person.

Now that he thought about it, there were going to be many bumps in the road. Whereas Hiei would come out and beat the crap out of him, Kurama would find a way to work from the inside, planting seeds of doubt in the minds of everyone who knew him. Kurama could make everyone hate him, including Keiko if he had enough time, which meant his life would come crashing down. Yusuke allowed his fist to clench inside his pocket, his eyes narrowing as he thought about it. He wasn't going to allow a man he knew had felt something for his wife long ago to have a go at her in this type of situation. He'd kick Kurama's ass if he even found out he was trying to charm Keiko, or worse, try to get her to seek revenge on him.

Holding his head up high, Yusuke's eyes hardened as he thought about it. He'd need to think some more, which he knew was more Kurama's department, in order to try and out fox the master. True, he might not deserve Keiko's love any longer after what he'd done, but he wasn't about to let his old friend have her. He'd need to find a way to be stubborn enough to let Keiko come back to him, but also stop Kurama from internally fucking up his relationship.

His concentration broke when he noticed two people walking toward him.  _Oh, fuck_ , Yusuke cursed, looking around quickly. He needed a place to hide, fast, before they noticed him.

" _You_."  _Crap, too late,_  Yusuke thought, turning to look at the man and woman standing in front of him now. He grinned, though it fell when he noticed the way the woman was grabbing onto the man's arm, trying to hide behind him. The anger and hate in the man's eyes told him that there was going to be pain, lots of pain.

"Oh," he said, trying to act casual, hoping she hadn't told him. "Hey, Hiei, what's up?"

" _You_ ," Hiei hissed once more, and Yusuke knew that he'd been told.

* * *

"Who was that?" she asked, blinking at her irritated fiancée. Sitting up in bed, she pulled the covers up so that they were held tightly to her breast, and touched his shoulder. "Inuyasha…" her voice trailed off, when suddenly he stood, pacing on the floor, his fists clenching and unclenching every few seconds.

 

"Damn him," Inuyasha said, grinding his teeth together. "Damn him to Hell."

Kikyo sighed, rolling her eyes a little. "What are you talking about, Inuyasha?"

"Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha snorted.

"Oh?" Kikyo stated, though it sounded more like a question. "And what is it that my dear soon-to-be brother-in-law wanted?"

"He  _wanted_  to tell me that he didn't approve of my choice in women," Inuyasha said, his voice beginning to rise. "He  _wanted_  to merely tell me that I have to return home so that I can come to another stupid fucking business party, or he's going to make it seem like I'm no longer trying to help the company, therefore all the money that's rightfully mine will be taken from me. That stupid fucker is trying to ruin my life, even when our father made it quite clear in his will that  _both_  sons were going to get an equal share out of the company."

"Well then, we should go," Kikyo, said, smiling a little. "After all, Sesshoumaru is most likely only jealous because you have managed to find a willing woman, while he must pick up your left overs."

"Sesshoumaru's not dating Kagome," Inuyasha snapped, glaring at her. He hated it whenever she tried to make him think that, but he knew that Sesshoumaru wasn't interested in her cousin. Besides, Sesshoumaru worked too much to actually notice any woman, let alone Kagome.

"I never said he was," Kikyo frowned.

"Then don't make it seem like it, god damn it," Inuyasha hissed.

"Don't yell at me, Inuyasha," Kikyo said, her nose wrinkling a bit in her anger.

"Feh." Inuyasha crossed his arms, turning his back to her. Deciding that he needed some air, he walked to the balcony and slid the door open, before going out. He heard Kikyo moving around inside, before she came out onto the balcony with him in a bathrobe. Glaring at her for a moment, he sighed, and then turned his attention back to the city below.

Kikyo wrapped her arms around his waist, sighing herself. "What's happening to us, Inuyasha?"

"Hell if I know," he muttered.

"I think our relationship is becoming ruined because we no longer have the excitement of going behind someone's back to be together," Kikyo said, placing her chin on his shoulder. She pouted, "I don't like this, but I know I liked it then."

"There's nothing we can do about that now," Inuyasha frowned.

"You could get back together with Kagome," she suggested.

"Can't," Inuyasha mumbled. "I tried calling her once, just to see if she'd forgive me, since I do like her as a friend, and I got Sango."

"And?" Kikyo asked, trying to make him continue.

"Sango told me that if I ever settled eyes on Kagome again that'd she kick my ass," Inuyasha said, turning his head away. "I might not be afraid of that bitch, but I'm not the type to hit a woman when she doesn't rightfully deserve it. Besides, from what I got out of Sango's yelling, Kagome's got a new boyfriend; a protective boyfriend who'll do even worse then Sango would."

Kikyo blinked, "I didn't know Kagome was dating again." She smirked a little, nodding to herself. "That's good, she deserves to find someone who will love her as she's always wanted."

He frowned, blinking in confusion. "I thought you hated Kagome?"

"I don't. I don't even feel threatened by her," Kikyo mumbled. "I love Kagome, as my family, but I couldn't allow her to have you, Inuyasha. You're mine, no one elses. Now…"

"Yeah?" he mumbled. His eyes drooped down, a deeper frown forming on his lips. He hadn't known that Kikyo loved Kagome, just didn't want her to have him. It would explain why she never tried to harm her, even though they'd get into plenty of fights while he was with Kagome.

"Perhaps you should take up Kagura's offer," Kikyo said.

"That bitch?" Inuyasha growled. "There's not way I'm going to hook up with her."

"You want us to work, don't you, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah," he replied, sighing.

"Then tell her that you've dumped me and want to go out with her. She'll be excited, I know she will be, and then we'll do as we did with Kagome. We'll secretly meet each other and find the thrill of it, knowing that Kagura could find us at any moment," Kikyo smiled.

"What about that stupid business thing, though? I'm not taking her on my arm, that's for fucking sure." Inuyasha leaned against the balcony, wondering why he only found pleasure with Kikyo whenever there was a chance of them being found in the act together. That was the reason why he'd always tried to make Kagome feel bad about herself, to make her seem worthless, because she'd never give him what he really wanted. He'd wanted to be able to fuck her, and then go behind her back and fuck Kikyo, getting more pleasure out of it, yet she hadn't given it to him. He scowled, betting that she'd probably given it to this new guy she was with, especially with how much Sango made it seem like she loved the guy.

"You can tell her that you have to visit Sesshoumaru or Kouga or someone important and its urgent. I'll go with you to this  _thing_ , as you like to put it, and we'll make sure that we're not caught on camera. It will be exciting and dangerous," Kikyo whispered, grinning.

A smirk formed on his lips. "I like danger," he said.

"I know you do," Kikyo said, pressing closer to him. "Now, why don't you come inside, Inuyasha. We'll celebrate our  _separation_." Her grin became wider, while she pulled away from him, grabbed his hand, and tugged him back inside the apartment. She'd always loved to come up with plans with him in order to break the heart of some poor girl. She felt bad about Kagome, since they were related, but it had been even more exciting for her because it  _had_  been her relative.

Even so, she knew Inuyasha loved her and would never betray her for another. No matter how many plans they came up with, and how many hearts he broke, he'd always come running back to her like the faithful doggy that he was. She loved him because she knew he would come back, no matter how many times she thought he might find a soft spot in his heart for another woman.

* * *

Her tongue shot out, once again taking a small taste of the object in her hand. She smiled, happy to have found a way to get past the guilt that had crashed down on her shoulders since she'd met that monster, Urameshi Yusuke. She was happy, for he always made her happy, no matter what he was doing. He could be scowling at her for laughing at something that happened to him, and she'd still feel happy that he was even paying attention to her, instead of someone else. She figured it was because she still couldn't forget the fact that the man she'd once thought she had feelings for left her for her cousin. Hiei, though, was different, because he wanted her, not someone else.

 

Licking at her ice cream cone once more, she smiled, watching as he did the same, his attention solely on the cone in his hand. His other hand was resting on her hip, and she suspected his sudden public affection was because of his sugar-induced pleasure. She'd noticed the first time that he acted more gentle and affectionate whenever he was  _drugged_ with ice cream, and it was slightly funny. It made her heart soar, for he showed a side of him that she rarely saw and told her things that he normally would not say because of his pride.

She knew he wasn't paying her any attention, but she wasn't jealous—that would be pointless. She was just happy. Happy to know that he was showing himself in public with her, thoughs she doubted many people knew of what she'd done. To her, though, it seemed that there were tons of people staring at her at once, even when she was all alone. She knew, for she felt that way whenever she wasn't near him. She hadn't noticed it until she was getting the ice cream, asking for one chocolate and one mint chocolate chip, while he waited for her, having given her the money to pay. Once back in his presence, though, she'd felt better, and she didn't want him to leave  _ever_.

In fact, she wanted to cling to him, stay with him, and spend every moment with him, as long as he made the guilt go away. As long as he continued to make her happy, but she knew that it most likely wouldn't happen. Since she was little she'd thought about getting married, having children, and spending the rest of her days with the man she loved, but she wasn't so sure anymore. She didn't deserve to marry Hiei, and she didn't think he was even the type to ask a woman to marry him. So, she'd be happy with whatever she got, even if she didn't get to say she completely belonged to him as Jaganshi Kagome, but was his as Higurashi Kagome.

Sighing, she covered his free hand in her own, turning her attention to the cone in her hand. Hiei's grip tightened as soon as he realized she was touching the hand he'd placed on her hip, and then slid forward a bit more, resting gently on her thigh. It pulled her closer to him, and she smiled, once again licking at her ice cream. Tilting her head so that she was leaning on his shoulder, she took another lick of her sugary treat, glad to have this moment with him. She hoped to have many more, just like this, without the guilt and the harsh words, and simply the gentle kindness that she knew lay hidden underneath his gruff exterior. The loving kindness that was only uncovered by ice cream and sometimes the aftermath of their love making, but never anytime else.

She was happy with that, though, for it made him real, instead of some untouchable being that would never be hers.

Smiling, she allowed her eyes to close, and simply took in the moment, happy that everything simply disappeared from around her. She'd felt how she wanted to feel, how she thought she would have felt once she found the person she loved. She remembered Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi always talking about it when they were dating or finally getting married. Of course, she hadn't seen her childhood friends for a long time since Eri got married, Ayumi sought out her dream job, and Yuka went to America to teach at some college. Yuka, she heard, had gotten married, but she hadn't heard from her other friends since they'd left. Even if they weren't there anymore, she was still happy that she was finally experiencing what they got to, and she hoped to experience it forever—or as long as she could.

Kagome opened her eyes, looking up at Hiei's face as he continued to give his full attention to his ice cream. She smiled a little more, wondering when her dream had come true.  _No,_ she thought,  _this is better than any dream I could have ever had._  It was true, she knew it was, for she had thought that she'd find someone who'd simply fall head over heels in love with her, and then within a few months they'd be married, and live happily ever after, but this was so much better. She had had time to get to know him, to actually understand why he did everything he did, instead of simply falling in love because of looks or something that attracted her to someone else. She got to know him, and to love him because she wanted to love him, instead of simply thinking she loved him, and that made it better than any dream she could have ever had.

Turning her eyes back to the sidewalk in front of them, her eyes widened. She suddenly stopped, the ice cream she was holding slipping from her hand as her grip loosen around the cone. Her mouth opened in horror, her body trying to take a step back, while Hiei's grip tightened, obviously having been pulled from his sugar-induced world. Her hands instantly reached for her boyfriend, grabbing hold of his arm, trying to make herself as small as she could.

Hiei's attention snapped away as soon as Kagome stopped moving, trying to remove herself from his hold. Turning to look at her, he wondered why she was acting so strangely, until he noticed the fear in her eyes. Anger filled his chest, knowing only one person from Sango that could make Kagome act that way. The man that made Kagome believe that  _he_ wouldn't have enough honor to hold true to one woman.  _Inuyasha_. From the things he'd heard, he wouldn't mind kicking his ass as much as he wanted to kick Yusuke's. "Kagome," he said, his concern hidden well enough that others wouldn't notice it.

Holding onto him tighter, her eyes sought out his own. "H-Hiei," she whimpered, turning her eyes back to the person she'd spotted. She saw him turn his attention to where she was looking, and knew that he'd seen him from the way he stiffened against her.

Hatred filled him to the core, hating the man for making Kagome come to act so fearful and dependant. He didn't like her this way, he wanted the Kagome he knew and loved to come back to him. Hiei allowed his hand to fall from her hip, feeling her tighten her hold on him. Thrusting his ice cream toward her, he felt her hand take it, and then stepped toward the person in front of them, his face turning this way and that in order to probably find a way to escape. " _You_ ," Hiei hissed, his eyes narrowing on the man he'd once thought was his friend.

Yusuke grinned, though it quickly vanished. "Oh. Hey, Hiei, what's up?"

" _You_."

"Hiei," Kagome whispered. She gave a small gasp when he pulled away from her, and tried to grab him with her free hand, but he was too quick for her. Biting her lip, she shrunk into herself, looking around at some of the people giving her a small look of pity, while others looked slightly jealous that her boyfriend was so protective. There weren't that many people, but she was slightly nervous that a fight might break out. She'd never been one for violence.

"Ah," Yusuke frowned. "I, um, thought we established that the first time ya said it, Hiei." He didn't like that look in his eyes, nor the fact that he was cracking his knuckles, something he knew Hiei only did whenever he was serious. Stepping backwards, he said, "We… we can talk about this, Hiei."

"Hn," Hiei muttered darkly. "You don't deserve to explain. I believe I know everything I need to know about  _you_ , Urameshi."

"I'm not sure I know what you're talkin'—"

Being close enough, Hiei reared his hand back, his fingers curling in toward the palm in order to form a fist. With as much force as he could muster, wanting it to hurt, he shifted forward, throwing his body weight into the equation. Satisfaction filled him when his fist connected with Yusuke's jaw, nearly throwing the taller man off his feet as he fell backwards onto his ass.

Yusuke nearly stared in disbelief, wondering when the rest of the punishment was coming. He knew he deserved it, but he wondered why Kagome ran forward, grabbing onto Hiei and tugging him away from him. He knew she was compassionate, but surely she didn't want him to get away without getting the punishment he deserved? Or maybe she didn't know he was married yet? He was sure that once she did, she'd probably also turn on his ass.

Glaring at him, he felt Kagome's hand grip his shirt. "You're lucky, Urameshi. If it was not for  _my_  girlfriend, I wouldn't have stopped." Hiei stopped for a moment. "But do not feel lucky, Urameshi. If I hear that you've come near Kagome again, I'll make sure you end up with more than a broken jaw." The threat hung heavily on the air, as Hiei grabbed Kagome's hand possessively, and stomped away.

Reaching up, Yusuke found that his lip was bleeding, and flinched at the pain in his jaw. It probably wasn't broken, but he knew it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, he doubted that Hiei was going to let him get away with only one little hit. He'd be back, and when he came, Kagome wouldn't be with him. Staring down at the ground, he snorted, and then went to stand.

"Are you alright?"

Looking up, he found a man staring down at him. "Yeah, I'm fine," Yusuke, said, wiping at his lip.

The man grinned, "Good, 'cause I don't like hitting a man when he's down."

"What?" Yusuke asked.

The man's gaze turned hard. "From what I saw, I take it you must be Yusuke, correct?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Yusuke spat. He didn't like where this was going. The pretty boy in front of him was standing too close, with too much confidence, and acted like he was going to like beating him up. For a moment, Yusuke wondered where the hell his fighting skills and attitude went for a moment, but shrugged it off. Now was not the time to be thinking of those types of things.

"Kagome's my girlfriend's sister," the man replied. "I asked her why the hell she's been acting strange, and according to her, she slept with a man named Yusuke and feels bad about it. Not only that, but this man also blackmailed her into doing it a second time, no matter how many times she tried to get him to stop by telling him that she was in love. You might not understand that, but Kagome prides herself on being faithful to the man she loves, and because of you, she didn't get that."

"I don't even know who the hell you are!" Yusuke snapped.

"Doesn't matter, you hurt Kagome."

"Bankotsu! Bankotsu, there you are!"

Bankotsu turned his head. "Not now, Jakotsu. I'm going to teach this guy a lesson on treating a woman with proper respect. I think Hiei had the right idea, but Kagome's too nice to allow him to finish the job."

Jakotsu straightened, his joyful eyes filling with anger as he turned his attention toward the man standing in front of his brother. "So," his voice was serious, "this is the man that hurt my little Kagome?"

"Yeah," Bankotsu replied.

Jakotsu smiled seductively, "He deserves whatever you throw at him then, brother."

Yusuke's eyes flickered between them. The one wearing blue seemed more threatening than the cross-dressing man standing next to him, if it was a man, but he'd learned when he was younger that looks didn't matter. Especially not when the smiling cross-dresser suddenly turned into a solid block of anger staring at him through hardened eyes. That change nearly made this Jakotsu guy seem nuts.

"But this should be a private matter," Jakotsu continued. "Tell you what, I'll tie him up, and you can tell me where to take him. I'm sure we can lots of fun with him once there."

"Wonderful idea, brother," Bankotsu grinned.


	6. Chapter 6

Kurama sighed, glancing to the other side of the street once more. He'd checked with Shizuru, and no Keiko. He'd checked with most of her friends that he did not have names for, but knew that they nearly swooned when he showed up on their doorstep, and no Keiko. He was beginning to wonder just where she'd gotten to, since he'd made sure to check her home beforehand and she hadn't been there. He was beginning to think that she knew from the way he'd saw Yusuke stumbling upon like he hadn't gotten any sleep that morning, which meant she was either with her family or one of her friends. Where, though? That was truly the mystery that he wanted to solve.

Tilting his head back, he wondered if Hiei was making any progress. He knew that the man was stubborn, but he did love Kagome. If she even started to slip away from him, he'd most likely try anything in order to get her back. He even knew that there might be a real bloodbath if Yusuke tried to get his hands onto her again. Kagome might not be one for violence, but he hoped that she listened to the fact that Hiei was, and if Yusuke did try something again, Hiei wasn't going to be happy about it. Hiei may actually grab some type of blade and run Yusuke through if it meant keeping him away from his woman, even if she turned to hate him in the end. However, Kurama knew that Kagome was too kind of a soul to hate anyone, no matter what they did, which made him worry about them. Would they make it?

Shaking his thoughts away from his friend, he focused his task back onto Keiko. Sometimes he cursed his curiosity, but he knew that he was concerned for his friend. Hiei wasn't the emotional type, which might be exactly what Kagome needed at that moment, or at least someone that she could talk to and get a supportive answer out of. With Hiei she would have to know him very well in order to understand he was supporting her in his own way, quietly. Scowling at himself, Kurama once again shook himself away from that, promising himself that he'd go check on his friend later on, perhaps the next day, in order to see how things were fairing for him. Who knew, he might get information on Keiko from him if he could not find any.

He was concerned for her, as well. He wasn't sure if she knew, and if she did, how she knew. If she did, how had she found out about it? They were all questions that swarmed into his head, but mostly he was simply concerned for her current situation. Surely she'd taken her daughter with her, especially if she knew Yusuke had cheated on her, and was probably putting up a strong face for her, before crying in the dark alone and sad, yet angry.

Now that he thought about it, she and Kagome were a lot alike, which meant he might be able to kill two birds with one stone by finding Keiko. By learning more about Keiko, he might be able to help Hiei if he was having any trouble. He knew there were differences between the two women, but they were somewhat the same. They were both loyal to a certain breaking point; they were both kind unless angered; they both hit a pervert if he deserved to be hit, though he was sure from seeing them both firsthand that Keiko's was much stronger; and they both tried to make others happy, though Kagome more so than Keiko. Keiko would want to talk about the problem, while Kagome would merely smile and say that they could come to her when they wanted to talk, putting her own feelings aside for that time.

Kurama, more so than anything else, hoped that Keiko was all right, though. He'd watched her interact many times with Yusuke, and had thought about what it would have been like if he hadn't stepped down and let Yusuke take her without a word? He often wondered if they would have fought, though he doubted it, and he wondered if they would have fallen in love and had a child? He wondered many things when it came to the woman he'd allowed Yusuke to have, though he had found an interest in her when he'd first met her, something rare and surprisingly new. Refreshing, even.

Which was another different between her and Kagome. He hadn't thought that when he'd first met Kagome, for she'd been trading snide remarks with Hiei at the time, though he could tell that his friend's eyes had been twinkling silently as he insulted her time and again. Apparently, though when they'd first met he'd insulted her, she'd poured his drink into his lap in front of business partners and quit her job, Hiei had found something that interested him. Kurama, however, had found nothing that really interested him. Kagome was a wonderful person, almost like a great light sent from above, but she was more suited for a person who needed her patience and kind hand.

He almost hoped that if Yusuke were trying to get his wife back, since he slept with Kagome twice, he'd be able to see the differences as well. If he couldn't, he doubted that he'd be able to get anywhere. As much as he'd once respected Yusuke, he found it disappointing that Yusuke had slept with his friend's girlfriend, someone he'd known was special to Hiei, and blackmailed her the second time to do so from what they'd been told. Or what Hiei had yelled him at, and Kagome had told Hiei. Yusuke was thickheaded, though, and probably wouldn't be able to see the reason why he loved Keiko and merely found something nice about Kagome until the last moment. Even then, he might have other reasons, reasons that would cause Kurama to not allow him to get his hands onto the woman he didn't deserve then.

Kurama had stepped aside once; he would not step aside a second time unless told to by Keiko herself.

* * *

He wiped his mouth, stumbling down the road on his bruised leg, and wondered how bad his wounds really were. He was sure he'd taken worse, but it had been so long since then that those punches and some kicks had actually felt like his bones were being crushed under the assault. He knew he deserved it, though. He deserved it for the fact that he'd cheated on his wife and practically chased her out of his life, along with their daughter.

Leaning forward, Yusuke coughed, blood trickling down his chin from the cut on his lip. His hand reached out to find something to hold himself up on, wondering if those two guys were going to follow him. That cross-dressing Jakotsu had said something about fetching something, and when Bankotsu had said he'd join him, Yusuke had faked being unconscious and stumbled away as soon as they were out of sight and out of hearing range, or he'd hoped so, he'd waited for about two minutes before moving again. Still, he couldn't help but take a look behind him. He also guessed that it was just ironic that it wasn't Hiei who beat him up first, but someone else close to Kagome. That just meant that Hiei's truly painful beating would be lingering in the future if he decided to take out his anger on him. He doubted the guy would take it out on Kagome; he seemed to care for her a lot more than he'd first thought.

That look in Hiei's eyes when he's punched him told him that he was fighting against himself to hit him again, or go with Kagome. The shorter man had gone with Kagome in the end, thus leaving him to the fate of those two crazed freaks. It made him wonder how the hell Kagome managed to attract such strange people. They did not even seem good enough to be put in the friend category. That Jakotsu guy had been mumbling about swords, and grinning at the thought of cutting his face up like it was the greatest thing in the world. The guy named Bankotsu had gotten a rather sinister look in his eye when his 'brother' had mentioned something named Banryuu, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what that was. Still, he couldn't help but wonder why the hell that stupid woman attracted such dangerous and crazed people to her. Surely Hiei could be put into that category, and he was sure Hiei's boss, Sesshoumaru, could be put there as well. Hell, he bet everyone that damned woman was associated with could be put in that category!

 _Damn_ , Yusuke coughed again. He wanted to blame Kagome, but he knew that those stupid freaks were acting on their own accord. There was no fucking way Kagome knew he was married unless Hiei had told her, which he doubted he had yet for he'd probably be facing her wrath as well, thus there was probably no fucking way those two guys had been told to attack him. Then again, Bankotsu had mentioned being the boyfriend of Kagome's sister, or something like that, which probably meant her sister might have had them looking out for him.

He shivered. He could just see the way her sister probably looked. A knife on one hip, a lopsided smirk, her eyes wide as she watched them cutting up another person, while she laughed the entire time—crazy, just like everyone else that woman knew. It just figured he had to have some strange thing for her, or her personality or whatever it was that drew him to her, and she was the one person in the world who befriended and was protected by tons of crazy people just waiting for something like this to happen. He could bet there were lots of others just like the two who'd beat him up, and each one of them, within a few weeks time, would be out for his blood now that Bankotsu and Jakotsu would be able to describe him to the other hoards of people out for blood.

He shivered again. It just figured he'd have to think about those things at the moment. It almost made him want to go against the fact that he wanted Keiko to come back to him, and go to Yukina's and beg her to come home. To right everything and then never leave his little house again—never, ever again. Lock himself up so that those crazy people couldn't find him and seek revenge on him for what he'd done to 'their Kagome', as they'd dubbed her. However, he was stronger than this, he knew he was, and he wasn't going to allow two crazy men to scare him simply because they'd spoken of twisting his limbs and gutting him like it was an everyday occurrence for them.

Sighing, Yusuke began walking forward once more. Now he really wished he hadn't screwed up, for then he wouldn't have any of these problems. He wouldn't have chased away his wife and daughter; he wouldn't have some strange attraction toward his friend's girlfriend; he wouldn't have betrayed someone who'd taken forever to even call him by his first name out of respect; and he wouldn't possibly have Kurama trying to steal his life. Most of all, he wouldn't have crazy people coming after his ass simply because he'd blackmailed a girl to sleep with him after she'd done so willingly the first time.

Shaking those thoughts away, he decided that he was going to go home for now. Rest, and figure out what he was going to do with that stupid tape. He'd left it where he'd found it after Keiko had watched it, not knowing exactly what to do with it, trying to think that it wasn't true. He should destroy it, he knew that, but he wasn't sure how to do so. Throw it away and possibly have someone else find out about his little adventure? Break it to pieces and hope that no one who found it could put it back together? Keep it and wait until Keiko returned, before allowing her to smash it to bits? No, that one wasn't good enough, he was sure she'd think he kept it because of his perverted-ness, since when they were younger she'd always shriek about him doing anything she could consider perverted, and he bet that one would be chalked up as one-hundred percent perverted.

Or maybe one-hundred percent chance of her thinking he had been watching it while she was gone, thus being perverted, and thus betraying her more?

Nodding to himself, he began to trek home, decided that when he got there, he was going to smash that tape to bits. At least it was something that he could take his aggression out on without someone freaking on him.

* * *

"There you are," Yukina smiled. "I was beginning to wonder if I'd have to come get you in order to bring you downstairs again. Locking yourself up while Rini isn't here isn't going to solve anything, Keiko."

"I know, I just wanted to think about something once she left for school. I'm sorry if I worried you, Yukina," Keiko replied. "I told myself when I first came down that I was going to get over this, and then I just ended up going back to wondering if he was ever going to try and fix this. I mean, I wouldn't have been so angry at him if he'd told me to my face, I wouldn't even have thought of leaving the house, especially if he'd explained it to me. But, I started thinking about that tape and I started thinking that maybe he's at home watching it, smirking at the fact that he has proof of his victory, and I caved. I just needed to get that off my head, that's all."

"I understand, Keiko," Yukina nodded. "I can't put that against you. Besides, you're going through a rough time right now, and I'm sure that you will be until you can figure out which road you're going to take. However, I wanted to see if you'd like to come work at the bakery tomorrow with me?"

Keiko blinked. "Which reminds me. Why haven't you left for work, Yukina?"

"Because, today I don't open the bakery until eleven, instead of nine. I like having one day where I can stay in bed a little later than usual," Yukina giggled. "I love owning the business and everything, but I also have to allow Mina and Yukio a day off, and today seemed like the perfect day. So, on this day, their day off, I open the bakery later in the day."

"You're all alone on Thursday's?" Keiko asked.

"Well, yes," Yukina nodded. "Sometimes Mina will come by and help me if she doesn't have any other plans, but it's nice to have some time to myself. Other times it just seems crazy, since I seem to get more customers on days that I decide they can go home early or send them on other errands and things."

"I'd love to help you, Yukina," Keiko smiled. "Because you're allowing me to stay here. I'm sure it gets lonely inside that bakery all by yourself."

Yukina nodded again. "Perhaps. But not as lonely as you'd think! Thursday is usually the day that most of my regular customers come in and they make the loneliness go away."

Keiko shook her head. "I'd still love to help you, Yukina. Even if not for money, simply to help out and do something while Rini is in school. I can come back before she gets here later on, but I'd still like to do something. I hate to impose on you."

"Oh, you're not doing that, Keiko. I'm happy to help you," Yukina said.

"Still," Keiko sighed.

Yukina's lips tipped into a smile. "Tell you what. You can come help me at the bakery in exchange for staying here, and while we're there you'll tell me more about everything that's happened." Seeing Keiko give her a slightly horrified look, she giggled. "Not when there are many customers, of course. And just the little things until you're ready to tell me everything. I just," she paused, "I really want to find out if the Kagome you spoke of was the Kagome I know."

Keiko frowned. "Why?"

"Because she's a very nice girl who was hurt very badly by a man she thought she loved. I met her through her stepsister, who often comes into the bakery with her boyfriend. She's currently dating someone else that I happen to know, someone that might make her think he's going behind her back like the man she thought she loved did. That might make her do something very stupid, or in this case, might make her end up sleeping with someone else." Yukina allowed her eyes to lock with Keiko's. "I want to help her if it is her. She's kind of like you, Keiko, but she's a lot easier to break and could easily become very insecure. I don't want that to happen to her."

Keiko nodded. "I'll… I'll do it, Yukina. I feel we might be talking about the same person. I might not like the fact that she slept with Yusuke, maybe even more than once, but if what you say is true, I can't truly put any blame on her. Yusuke can be a jerk."

Yukina smiled, nodding. "Thank you, Keiko."

She smiled as well. "Of course. Besides, you're doing all this to help me, and now you just want to help another friend, Yukina. I can't come in the way of that. Especially not when you're helping me."

* * *

"He got away," Bankotsu growled. "That bastard."

Jakotsu sighed. "He had such a pretty face, too."

Bankotsu looked down at the spot where he'd kicked Yusuke to the ground and left him. "If you see him again, Jakotsu, call me and the others. He didn't get even a fourth of the punishment he deserves, and I'm not going to allow him to get away with doing this. Kagome doesn't deserve to be treated with anything more than respect, not after what Inuyasha did to her."

Jakotsu nodded. "Yes, brother."

Bankotsu sighed. "And remember what I told you this time, Jakotsu. I don't want you to end up in jail again, alright."

Jakotsu grinned.

"Don't give me that look, Jakotsu," Bankotsu huffed. "You shouldn't have went after Inuyasha by yourself thinking he would simply allow you to do whatever you wanted to do with him simply because you were alone. You should have tied the bastard up and called us."

Jakotsu nodded sadly, "He has a pretty face, too."

Bankotsu felt like hanging his head in shame. "Jakotsu, when will you learn?"

"When there are no longer any pretty faces in the world, brother," Jakotsu sang. He stopped, and then held his chin in his hand. "Except mine and Kagome's, for the world would not be able to function without them," he smiled.

Shaking his head, Bankotsu almost forgot about the punk that had managed to make Kagome so sad. Kagome was like his sister, even more so to Jakotsu because she accepted him instantly for what he was and how quickly he could change in attitude. Jakotsu, though, was always known for making jokes like that, and he was slightly surprised that his brother had actually become so close to a woman that he was including her in them as well. He bet that if Jakotsu wasn't into men that he'd be fighting to keep Kagome locked up for his eyes only.

"Bankotsu! Bankotsu, are you in there?"

Rolling his eyes, he said. "Yes. Of course, I'm in my own body, Jakotsu. Do you think that I suddenly stepped out for five minutes and would let it sit here without me?"

"I was only checking," Jakotsu smiled. "Now, why don't we go see Sango? I want to wait until Kagome gets home. I'm sure that her cute little boyfriend will keep her for a while, but when she gets home I want to ask her about this outfit I think she would look absolutely adorable in! She needs something to cheer her up with all these mean people trying to ruin her relationship with her little cutie."

"Alright. Just don't let her hear you calling him that." Bankotsu paused. "Scratch that, she probably already knows you call him that, doesn't she?"

"Mmhm," Jakotsu agreed.

"Fine, then don't let him hear you calling him that," Bankotsu sighed. "No reason to get him angry when he's already in overprotective mode."

"Oh," Jakotsu frowned. "But he's even cuter when he's angry. Even Kagome thinks so."

"You think everyone with three legs is cute, Jakotsu. I know that you usually said all those things in front of Kagome before this happened, but I don't want her getting the wrong idea. I want her to stay with Hiei, all right. I don't know why, but I do, since I happen to like him," Bankotsu said.

Jakotsu's eyes brightened, "Why do you like little Hiei, Bankotsu?"

He grinned. "Because, I might get to watch a pretty good show if that bastard Inuyasha ever comes back around when Hiei kicks his ass to next year. Plus, if that idiot Yusuke decides to show his face to Kagome again, from what I heard, he'll pound his face so badly no one will recognize him. I'd pay money to see that, wouldn't you?"

Jakotsu's eyes took on a different gleam, his tongue coming out to lick at his lips. "Of course I would, brother."

"You're sick, Jakotsu. You know that, right?"

"You have no room to talk," Jakotsu laughed, and then decided it was time to leave. He raced away from Bankotsu, leaving his brother there, but knew that he wouldn't be too much longer.

Bankotsu looked down at where they'd left Yusuke.  _If I ever see that bastard again, I'll personally see to it that he finds himself stranded in the middle of nowhere. He'll pay for what he did to Kagome, especially when it's making Sango sad to see her this way. He'll pay for hurting them both by hurting one._

* * *

He smiled softly, looking in through the window.  _There you are, Keiko._

Shaking his head, Kurama decided that today was probably not the best day to begin. He knew where she was now, and that was the most important thing. However, from the looks of things they were talking about something important, most likely what was happening in Keiko's life at the moment, which meant she knew what Yusuke had done. Which would make it slightly easier and slightly harder for him. Easier because he wouldn't have to tell her about it, and harder because he'd have to find a way around her new defenses that she'd probably built to keep out that type of hurt again.

Nodding at his plan, he decided that he'd pay Hiei a visit a bit later on now that he knew Keiko was staying with Yukina and helping her in the bakery she owned. See if his friend was making it anywhere and if he needed any advise. Perhaps see if he was becoming frustrated and tearing his hair out because the independent woman he knew was clinging to him for support. He wasn't sure if Kagome was doing that yet, but from what he'd been told, her sinking to her knees while she told Hiei what she'd done, suggested that she might. Her pain from her past relationship would most likely resurface and it would take some time before she managed to get back on her own two feet. Either time, or something that caused her to suddenly want to—not a miracle, but perhaps someone that might make her want to be able to protect herself. Who knew, though, except Kagome herself, though?

Yes, a visit to Hiei would be good. Especially if Kagome was there, since he'd often liked talking to her as if she was his own flesh and blood. She was a good person; she didn't deserve this anymore than Keiko did. He hoped in the end both of them would be happy, but he hoped that it would be with Hiei and himself, no matter how selfish that actually seemed.


	7. Chapter 7

She sighed. "Hiei?"

"Hn?" He shifted his eyes to look at her, and then wrapped his arm around her. He hadn't really thought it was such a good idea to take her home with him, not after all this had happened, but damn it, she was his girlfriend and had been for some time now. It was Yusuke's fault that she looked so uncomfortable leaning against him in the bed that she'd often slept in before Yusuke had gotten his claws on her. Before those stupid bitches' managed to make her think all of those stupid things. Before all of this stupid crap started happening.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

He frowned. What was she talking about now? He never understood why she couldn't just tell him what she meant when she went from one subject to another one. Shaking those thoughts away, he said, "I don't understand."

"Why are you staying with me after what I've done?" she asked again. Turning her eyes up toward his own, she sighed deeply. "You don't have to, you know. I'll be ok if you decide you no longer want anything to do with me."

His grip tightened around her shoulder, while he rested his head on top of hers. He never understood how she managed to get these types of crazy thoughts into her head, either. He liked that she was beginning to surprise and confuse him once more, though, for it meant that the Kagome he loved was showing toward the surface. She was trying to prove that she was independent and didn't need him in order to stand on her own two feet, even when she did. He liked teasing her about that, but he knew that right now wasn't the time. He didn't want to screw anything up simply because he'd gotten so used to simply teasing her about things that could be more sensitive at this point.

"I don't want to be a burden." She closed her eyes, resting gently against him.

"You're not a burden, Kagome," he whispered. Nuzzling against her, he brought his other hand up and gently ran his fingers over her cheek. He hated seeing her this way, especially when a tear managed to escape her eye and fell down her cheek like it knew the path so well. He never wanted her to cry in his presence, yet she was. He didn't like the way his heart constricted from seeing it, either.

"You're only telling me that because you don't want to admit that I am. I am a burden to everyone that comes into my life," she whispered.

He frowned deeper. "Why do you believe that, Kagome?"

"Because I was told so."

"By who?" he asked.

" _Inuyasha_ ," she hissed softly.

Pulling her face up, he lifted his head and made her look him in the eye. Narrowing his, he spoke truthfully, but with an underlying threat to the man in question. "Just because he thought you were a burden to him, does not mean you're a burden to everyone you meet, Kagome. You shouldn't take that bastard's words to heart, nor should you allow them to sway your decisions."

She lowered her eyes.

He pulled her chin back up so that she was staring at him again. "Trust me, Kagome," he said. "Trust me, not the word of a man who does not know what he wants in life. Trust me, for I will be true to my word and not leave your side. I may not say it often, Kagome, but I wish to be with you. You're not a burden to me."

"Hiei," she whispered.

He sighed, "I love you," he said. "I do not say it nearly enough, and I know that I may not often show it, but I do. I do, Kagome, and that is the reason you are not a burden to me. I will do what I can to help you through this, because I can tell its hurting you, here," he slipped his hand away from her face and placed it on her chest above her heart. "You hurting makes me hurt, Kagome."

"I'm sorry I'm hurting you," she replied. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he said. "You're not to blame, for you're not the one to make yourself hurt. You just need to find a way to get over it, Kagome, that's all."

Leaning against him, she softly replied, "I'll try."

His lips tilted into a smirk. "Good, I do not like you in pain."

Leaning further into him, Kagome buried her face into his neck. It'd been a while since she'd been this close to him, but she felt that she was back where she belonged. Their encounter with Yusuke on the street seemed like something that happened weeks ago while she sat with him and he actually told her how he felt. She wasn't sure what was wrong with Hiei, but she was glad that he was showing this side of him once more. She was sure there was still a chance for them, but she needed to step forward in order to do her share of the work to make it work. Her determination showed underneath the guilt and confusion she'd been feeling, and she wanted to make it work, instead of simply saying she wanted to. She did.

Shaking his head, Hiei decided that was good enough for now. As long as she told him she'd try, he knew that she'd really try. She'd try to make everything better, too. Still, he felt almost like she was trying to get away from him, like she wanted to simply fall out of his grasp and never be his again. She was the first woman to understand him and accept him completely for who he truly was, not all the crap that came with being him. Because she did, he had decided long ago to be the same with her, but he didn't quite understand the reason why she couldn't move on from this. He was helping her, trying to at least, and he had even called Sesshoumaru to make sure that his job wasn't forfeit while he was trying to make things better. Apparently he had six more days before he had to go in for two hours for the same amount of days and then start over again. Truthfully, he was simply amazed Sesshoumaru had given him time to fix this in the first place, since he usually didn't care about a person's life outside the office.

Looking down, he noticed that Kagome was once again staring up at him; her head moved enough so she could. Blinking at her, he noticed the look in her eyes. "Hn, you don't have to do that to stay by my side," he muttered.

She leaned forward, touching the tip of her nose against his own. Staring at him with a more intensified version of the look she was giving him, she smiled. "I know," she whispered, "but I want to. I want to remember what its like, instead of constantly thinking about the way another man's hands made me feel unloved and unworthy. Please, Hiei."

His lips tilted a little more, and he leaned forward, catching her lips with his own.

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"Feh, I'm always ready," Inuyasha frowned. Turning to look at Kikyo, who was eyeing the woman inside the small café in front of them, he shook his head. "I can't believe you're making me do this, and with her. I shudder every time I think about her, how the hell am I supposed to pull this off?"

"By thinking of me," Kikyo smiled, batting her eyelashes. Resting her chin on Inuyasha's shoulder, she smiled brighter. "Just think about it. Once again playing with each other behind another woman's back," her eyes shined. "Unless, you want me to find a man, maybe Naraku, to do this with?"

"No way I'm going to allow another fucking bastard to touch you," Inuyasha growled.

She giggled a bit. "Inuyasha."

"What?" he snapped. This was not something he wanted to do, but he'd do it in order to save his relationship. But still, he hated the fact that Kikyo even suggested such a damn thing. He wasn't going to sit around thinking about all the things another man could be doing to his woman. Besides, he was a bit afraid of what would happen to him if she found someone who pleased her better and left him all together. He loved Kikyo, and he'd do almost anything for her, so he didn't want to lose her over something so stupid.

"You just called yourself a bastard," she said.

"No I didn't," he huffed.

Kikyo placed a small kiss on his neck. "You did, Inuyasha. You said you would not allow another bastard to touch me, even if you did add such a vulgar word along with it. I've never touched another man while I've been with you."

"That time that we first started to see other people, though, right before we decided that it was fun to go behind Kagome's back, though. You were with some other guy then, don't deny it—you dumped him in order to come back to me," Inuyasha muttered.

"Yes, but we weren't technically together then," Kikyo replied, frowning.

"Well, I was talking about that fucking bastard, not myself. I'm not going to allow another fucking bastard to touch you while I know you're with me, got it?" he asked.

Sighing, she nodded. "Alright, Inuyasha." Looking up, she blinked a few times and saw that the woman sitting by the window was about to leave, muttering to herself, most likely with a dark undertone. "You better go, though. I think Kagura's starting to get restless waiting for you."

His lips turned further down. "Yeah, and it'd suck to let her find me here with you. Whole plan ruined." He shifted, nearly shuddering from even thinking about that stupid woman. She was always so demanding, stating that she was free to do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted and that if they planned to ever be together, as she'd said when he'd suggested dating, that he'd have to give her the space she needed. He could understand the fact that she wanted to be able to make her own decisions, but the depth that she'd went into, stating that she was like the wind, was something that really ticked him off. He could just bet what his life was going to be like whenever he was near her, instead of sleeping with Kikyo behind her back, or simply doing something in order to try and ignore her without her getting to suspicious.

"Well, we could always act like we're fighting," Kikyo smirked. "Me trying to regain your favor and you rejecting me for her." She sighed dramatically, tilting her head back as she placed her hand onto her forehead woefully. "I bet Kagura would love that little show."

"She's not gettin' it," Inuyasha growled. Turning his head, he quickly pecked Kikyo on the lips and then said, "I'll call you when I get the chance. Who knows how long that bitch will keep me up with her talk of being free or whatever."

Kikyo nodded. "Just remember not to call her a bitch when you go see her, alright." Seeing that Kagura was about to walk out the café door, she pushed Inuyasha forward a bit. "Go get her, tiger," she growled, waving her hands like she was going to scratch him. Once he was off, she watched him run across the street and quickly grab Kagura's arm, smiling, nodding, and saying something to her as her face brightened. Smirking a little in happiness to finally get to know that she would be the woman Inuyasha was secretly meeting, Kikyo brought her finger up to tap at her chin.

The question was, what would she do until then? It wasn't a hard question, she was sure she would be able to find something to do, even if it wasn't exactly something that anyone would approve of. Besides, Inuyasha would be touching another woman, so why couldn't she touch another man, even if he didn't know about it? Plus, it was so much more exciting to know she was cheating on two men at once, just like she'd been doing ever since Inuyasha cast Kagome aside with declarations of love for  _her_. Yes, it was terrible that her cousin had been so hurt from it, and she hated to know that she'd been apart of that, but Kagome was getting better from what she knew. Inuyasha, however, was an idiot and would never know the difference, just like he didn't for the last few months.

Seeing Inuyasha look over toward her as Kagura pulled him away, she waved a little and then turned away. With an extra skip in her step, Kikyo walked away, smiling as if she was a child who'd just got the toy she'd been looking at and begging her parents for. Kikyo couldn't be happier, even if she knew that it was considered bad what she was doing. She considered it to be a game with added pleasure slipped inside for the player's enjoyment. And, just like a game, she'd play until she lost, whether it was by being caught, simply getting bored with it, or someone else beat her in her own game.

* * *

"So, where to begin," Keiko said, tapping her finger against the counter. She watched as Yukina turned the open sign over so that it read closed, even though the bakery wasn't supposed to close early on that day. She looked up at her expecting friend, and sighed. "I'm not sure what to say. I came home, I found the recorder, and thought it was kind of strange that it was clicked to on and was dead. I kind of figured that maybe Yusuke had gotten a little drunk or something and recorded his friends just being silly, but I found  _that_  on it."

Yukina watched as a tear slipped from Keiko's eye. "It's alright, Keiko," she said, placing her hand onto her shoulder. "You don't have to tell me more than you want to. I won't hold it against you. Just remember to take it slowly, and stop when you want to, I don't want you to say more than you feel like today."

Keiko nodded. "So, I watched it, and it took nearly the whole thing for me to realize exactly what I was watching. Then, I was horrified, angry, and sad to know that Yusuke was going behind my back to sleep with other women. I snapped, even though I'd thought that we'd always be able to get through out problems, and I just wanted to hit him so hard that he never got up again. I wanted to, but I knew it was wrong, so I decided that leaving might knock some sense into him, prove that I was serious this one time and I wasn't going to allow him to get away with it."

Yukina blinked, nodding. "I understand, Keiko. Um, why don't you tell me about the Kagome you saw on the tape? Not the fact that she was naked or anything," Yukina blushed a bit, "but what you remember of her features." She nodded in encouragement, noticing that Keiko's eyes lost some of their shine, and thought that maybe she'd gone to far to ask this so soon. After all, to think about the description of the woman, whether it was her Kagome or not, meant that she'd have to think about what exactly Yusuke had done on that tape. She could only imagine how much Keiko must have hurt when she saw it all.

Keiko tilted her head down. "She was very pretty. Not beautiful, beautiful, but she held a natural beauty that seemed to shine even through her as she tried to discourage Yusuke. Her hair was black, and I think it had a soft blue shine when it was cast into the light perfectly. Her eyes were dark, but I think they may have been blue, but maybe they were brown. I couldn't tell really, I wasn't paying that much attention."

Yukina smiled, "Did she happen to have a small scar on her right side?"

Keiko nodded. "Yes. Right here," she brought her hand up and pulled it across her side, just below her ribs. "It looked kind of like she'd been cut by a knife but I think it might have been caused by some type of fall now that I think about it."

"I'm so happy," Yukina smiled brighter. "That is Kagome."

"Isn't that bad, though?" Keiko asked, her voice tight. She knew that she couldn't really blame this Higurashi Kagome, but Yusuke had still cheated on her. Yusuke could be a total jerk, she knew that from personal experience, but they were talking about knowing the woman that he'd taken advantage of. Especially with all the stuff that Yukina had been talking about happened to Kagome while she was with Inuyasha. Always being hurt and put down, yet continuing to stand by his side because he seemed to be a big softy on the inside. So much like her Yusuke, but he didn't sound like a pervert who'd record something he shouldn't have like an idiot.

Sighing, Yukina thought about it for a moment and then nodded her head. "Yes," she whispered, feeling tears build in her eyes. "I can't help but think about how Kagome must be feeling right now. Her boyfriend seems to love her, and he's the type to keep a woman he's gotten so close to, but he's not the most social person. She probably feels like she's being pushed away unless she knows him better than anyone else."

"That's terrible," Keiko replied. She blinked, "May I ask who her boyfriend is, though?"

"Hiei," Yukina said, shaking her head lightly. She was glad that it was Higurashi Kagome, for she'd be able to help her. Perhaps she'd go see her on one of the days that she was at the shrine with her stepsister, since she was positive Hiei would keep her close until he was positive she wasn't going to end up sleeping with another man. Yes, she was sure that by now he knew, Kagome wasn't the type to keep a secret like that from her loved one, but she'd always known Hiei to be possessive and he'd most likely keep Kagome until he was positive no one else would take advantage of her weak state.

"Wait," Keiko said, bringing up her hand. "Jaganshi Hiei?"

Yukina nodded.

Keiko's lips thinned out, and she felt her tears begin to flood over her cheeks. "He's one of Yusuke's friends," she snapped, trying to keep her voice down. "Yusuke used to go to see him, but he never stayed long, something about Hiei not wanting him to stay long because he wanted to spend time with his girl. I didn't think that Yusuke would want to go over there simply because he thought she looked like a good fuck or whatever he thought."

"I'm sure that's not what's happening, Keiko," Yukina said, bringing her hands up in defense.

"But what if it is!" Keiko cried. "What if Yusuke only slept with her because he heard about a fight that Hiei and Kagome had and decided that he wanted to try and get close to her? What if he's been planning to cheat on me for months now? What if he wanted to simply sample her in order to see if he really loved me, or if he was beginning to fall for her from a distance?"

"Sh, sh, it's alright, Keiko," Yukina said. She quickly brought her hand up to pat the other woman's back and wondered if she'd just ruined her relationship. She was sure that Keiko would be able to find someone else, but she didn't want to think that she'd been the reason she'd left the father of her only child. She hadn't wanted that, nor did she think she'd be the cause of it.

"No, it's not alright!" Keiko sobbed. "Yusuke cheated on me with his own friends girlfriend!" She closed her eyes tightly, and brought her hands up to cover her eyes in hopes of stopping her tears. "I bet she didn't even know he was married! He's probably been taking off his ring ever since he thought all this up!"

Yukina wrapped her arms around her friend, and allowed her to bury her head into her shoulder. "It'll be alright, Keiko. It'll be alright," she said, gently running her fingers threw her friends hair. It saddened her to see her this way, but she hoped that Keiko would be able to get over this, since from what she knew of Yusuke, that might actually be true.

* * *

"You did what?" she giggled.

"Jakotsu and I beat the crap out of him," Bankotsu smirked. "He got away before I was able to go get Banryuu, my lucky baseball bat from when I was young, but I made sure that he'll have a couple bruises for a few weeks."

Sango smiled brightly. "Well, I know that Kagome isn't into violence, but I think you did the right thing. You should have called me, Bankotsu, I would have come in order to watch over him while you went to get your bat, though I think that thing is starting to get extremely old."

"Hey, hey," he frowned, "don't talk that way about Banryuu, I've had it for years."

"You don't play baseball anymore," she scowled playfully.

"So, it still brings me luck." Bankotsu turned his head away, and felt Sango wrap her arms around his neck. Smiling, he ignored her, knowing that sooner or later she was going to ask the big question.

"So, what does this Urameshi Yusuke look like?"

And there it was. "I got a picture of him on my cell phone if you want to know so badly," Bankotsu replied. Shifting, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, before flipping it open and pressing a few memorized buttons in order to open up his picture file. Clicking the one he wanted, the picture of Hiei pulling his hand back to punch Yusuke in the face filled the small screen, and he allowed Sango to take it from his hands, though she seemed rather greedy as she was grabbing for it. "I took it while they weren't paying attention. I noticed the way Kagome responded to seeing him and figured that must be him, especially after Hiei went to confront him. I thought that something good might happen and whipped out my phone in order to snap a picture. It's not the best from the angle, but I did manage to get most of his face before Hiei struck him, and I confirmed it was him after they'd left."

Sighing, Sango silently memorized the face in case she ever saw him, and then handed the phone back. "You still should have called me," she muttered into his ear.

"I know," he replied.

"I think you should be punished," Sango continued. "But Yusuke getting away was probably enough punishment for both you and Jakotsu. However, I'll have a little talk with Hiei next time I see him, since I want to be there when he goes after Yusuke, since I'm pretty sure he knows where he lives."

"That's a plus," Bankotsu nodded. "I won't have to go looking for him."

"True," Sango sighed.

"To bad I don't know where Inuyasha is, though. He's the only reason all this is happening. If it wasn't for that bastard Kagome wouldn't have believed that Hiei would have cheated on her and wouldn't have gone to that nasty place," Bankotsu huffed. "Next time I see that bastard, I'm going to rub his face so far into the dirt he's going to find himself six feet under."

"Don't forget to call me," Sango scowled, punching him lightly in the arm. "That dick needs to be punished. I understand Kikyo, she's always had a childish way of thinking about everything that happens to her, but Inuyasha seemed at least a bit mature. Besides, I promised mother when she died that I wouldn't hurt family, blackmail or otherwise when I swore to kick Kaiya's ass after she bitched about Kagome behind her back after talking to her as if she cared."

"I wouldn't have even made that promise," Bankotsu said.

"You're also sadistic," Sango replied.

Bankotsu smirked. "I know, but you still love me."

She nodded, "Yeah, unfortunately I do."

He smiled, and then frowned. "Wait, unfortunately? What the hell do you mean by that, wench?"

"Don't you dare call me a wench, bastard," she hissed. "Besides, I was being sarcastic."

"It's not my fault that you decided to become sarcastic," Bankotsu frowned.

"It's not my fault you decided to start calling me names," she replied.

He turned his head and stared at her. "Do you know how hot you are right now?" he asked.

She smirked, "Yeah, but you're not getting any."

"Bitch," he mumbled.

"Ass," she snorted.

"Stop calling me names," Bankotsu said, rolling his eyes.

"Stop being one and I might," Sango said, continuing to smirk. She knew she was getting onto his nerves, and she knew that he liked it whenever she did. He was so much different than Miroku, and she liked that. At least she didn't have to worry about Bankotsu grabbing her ass along with tons of other women simply because his hand was cursed with the black blood of his family. Bankotsu was faithful and verbally fought with her to the point that she was sweating and ready to give herself to him, and she liked that. She wasn't sure why she liked it, but she did.

* * *

He glanced up, "What is it, Rin?"

"I was wondering if I could go to a party next week?" she smiled.

"No," he replied.

She pouted, "Oh, why not, father?"

"Because, the children you spend time with are not responsible enough to watch out for you, whether you wish to believe they will or not," he scowled. Blinking at the fifteen year old pouting in front of his desk, he shook his head, and then went back to his paperwork. He was happy to have adopted her, he was, but sometimes she asked the dumbest questions, since she should have known he wasn't going to allow her to go to a party that he was not supervising. Who knew how many young men wanted to sample his daughter!

"Fine," Rin sighed. "May I go see a movie with Ami, Mayako, and Rinako then?"

"You may," he said.

She clapped her hands together once, and then smiled brightly. "You're the best, daddy!" she said, and then raced out of the office. However, her head was stuck back in afterward, and she smiled when he raised his head. "And could you please tell Hiei that I wouldn't mind spending some more time with Kagome? She really helped me with my history homework last time she was here, and I've missed her since she broke up with Inuyasha."

"Kagome is not well, Rin," he sighed. "But I will tell him. Perhaps some time with you will help her."

"What's wrong with Kagome?" Rin asked, frowning.

Sesshoumaru lifted his eyes, and blinked a few times. "She is dealing with a few emotional problems from what I know, Rin. From what I know, she will most likely not feel well for some time, until she can sort out her problems, at least."

"That's terrible," Rin frowned. "I hope she gets better, I know how much Inuyasha hurt her." She smiled then, and waved her hand as she brought it inside the door, "Anyway, thanks dad, and I'll see you when you come home."

He nodded, and then shook his head once more when she exited the room. He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to handle her when she began to show a true interest in boys. He was only happy at the moment that she'd made a vow to herself to wait until she was out of school to even think about a relationship. Dealing with her first monthly bleeding had been bad enough; boys would be the next worst thing, along with her wanting to become more independent and begin going to those stupid outing she'd been talking about. Really, loud music and possible alcohol was not a good place for a fifteen year old in his book.

Sesshoumaru nodded to himself, knowing that Rin would come to see that once she made a mistake. He was protecting her. He stopped, and lifted his eyes to stare at the closed door to his office, wondering when he'd become so soft. He'd allowed Hiei enough time as possible in order to fix his relationship, mostly because he was his colleague and pretty much his friend, and he was being extremely soft on his growing daughter. The only thing he could think of that he'd actually done cruelly was call Inuyasha and tell him to get his ass in gear or his money was going to a better cause.  _Dear god_ , he thought, and then went back to his paperwork.

He had a feeling that that evil paperwork was one of the reasons he seemed so soft, even to himself.

* * *

He knocked once, twice, and then again on the door, frowning slightly when it was not answered. He knew Hiei was home, mainly because the lights were on and Hiei was known to shut off all the lights so that it was pitch black inside when he was either sleeping or gone. Kurama sighed, and then placed his hand onto the doorknob, hoping that Hiei wouldn't be too angry with him walking right in, since he usually only locked the door when he wanted others to stay away. Besides, he'd once been told that if the door was open he could come in, since Hiei might be doing something that required his attention, and he'd come as soon as he was done, or Kurama found him.

Twisting the knob, the door opened almost silently, and Kurama stepped inside. The place wasn't that large, but it wasn't that small, and most of the walls were white, or slightly dark blue. He'd always wondered if Hiei painted it himself, or bought the place simply because it matched what he wanted. Shaking his head, Kurama closed the door behind him, and turned his head to listen for the shower or some type of sound in the kitchen. Receiving neither noise, he frowned, wondering if Hiei had gone out in a hurry for some reason, or simply wished to ignore anyone who came because of what was happening. Maybe he'd broken up with Kagome and was now sitting by himself somewhere simply staring at a nearby wall—he wouldn't put that past him.

Clearing his head, knowing that he shouldn't think that until he knew it was true, Kurama stepped into the doorway for the livingroom and found it empty. Only the leather seats, TV, stereo, and bookcase occupied the room. Turning his head the other way, he looked into the kitchen and found it also to be empty. Wondering where exactly his friend was, Kurama stepped deeper into the home, and began to walk toward the bedroom. His best bet was that Hiei was simply lying in the bed, since he'd found him doing that once, the first time that Hiei had told him he was going to take Kagome on a date. Now was not the time to think about that, though.

He was quiet, not wishing to surprise Hiei if he was thinking about something and hadn't expected him to suddenly walk in. Within moments he stepped in front of the closed bedroom door, and went to grab the doorknob. He was positive that Hiei wouldn't mind him coming in to see him, so he twisted the knob and allowed the door to slowly open. However, Kurama allowed his eyes to widen when he looked into the room, and a small blush grew on his cheeks when he realized he'd walked into a room soon after they'd slept together. Or he believed they had, since they were both naked and Kagome's body was pressed tightly against her lover's, while Hiei's arms were wrapped possessively around her body. Kagome's face was viewable, but Hiei's face was buried away in her shoulder and hair, and when the door squeaked slightly, Kurama watched as Hiei's head snapped up and his crimson eyes came to rest upon him.

"Kurama?" he glared.

He nodded, "I'll leave you two alone and wait for you in the livingroom, Hiei." He reached in to grab the doorknob once more, and watched as Hiei maneuvered himself to grab the blanket that they hadn't been using, before pulling it up around Kagome's shoulders. He hoped that this wouldn't be something he'd have to remember, since he had better things to do with his time. Like helping Keiko. Yes, that was so much better to think about then what Hiei and Kagome had probably been doing before he'd opened that door. He was only happy that he hadn't caught them together, since Hiei probably would have hit him—Kurama was sure he would have hit himself. He hadn't expected to walk into the room with them together like that, and he planned to knock the next time he came over, for there was no need to see them like that ever again.

Kurama scowled to himself, wondering why it was so embarrassing, until he realized that this was Hiei, and he hadn't ever thought he'd walk in on Hiei when he looked so loving. In fact, he'd expected to walk in on Yusuke when he'd been told he could simply come in if they were home as well, though he felt the need to knock first, but not Hiei. Never Hiei, and it was slightly embarrassing to walk in on them when he  _was_  thinking about a woman, though a different woman, to see Hiei like that. He guessed he was slightly embarrassed because he hoped that if Keiko accepted him and ended up with him, that he'd be that peaceful with her at every turn.


	8. Chapter 8

Yusuke winced, placing his hand onto the bruising on his leg, and tried to stand. He needed something to dull the pain he was feeling, since he was hurt and worried about whether Keiko was truly going to stay away from him until he came to get her. He knew he was in no condition to do so, which was the exact reason he was glad he had taken his vacation time when this had all started. Not only could he try to find a way to get his wife back, but he also could mend to his bruised and battered body, as well as his bleeding heart. He didn't know when that started to happen, but he felt like his heart was going to burst if he didn't get Keiko running back into his arms, which made him think about why he'd gone out and found his adventure of excitement in the first place.

Sighing, he rose to his feet, intending to go into the bathroom and get the bottle of ibuprofen so he could at least get a little relaxation while he waited, and waited, and waited. He was beginning to think he might wait forever, and that bothered him. Forever was a long time, and he knew what a nice woman his wife was, and how she looked. It wouldn't take forever for someone else to start sniffing around his territory. He had no doubt that someone might, and currently he believed he'd be staring down his old friend, since he knew Kurama wouldn't be able to stay away. Especially after what he'd done to Kurama's oldest friend's girlfriend—that, Yusuke knew, probably hadn't gone over well with the clever man.

Passing by his bedroom, and he looked in, wishing to not find the closest wide open and half empty, or the drawers of the dresser still opened and clothing carelessly dropped onto the floor. He knew that Keiko wouldn't have taken it well, but she didn't need to wreck his shit while packing hers. But, that wasn't what caught his attention the most. What did was that little tape sitting on the bed innocently, even though he knew it was far more evil than it let on. That stupid tape that had chased his wife away, since he doubted Keiko would have ever found out if it wasn't for that blasted thing. He really wanted to destroy it, but he hurt too much at the moment. He hadn't even been able to snap it in half, no matter how many times he tried, since his body was on auto-repair and trying to heal himself, instead of keeping his strength up.

Glowering at the small tape, he stomped past the bedroom, and winced once more when he applied too much pressure to his leg. Gritting his teeth together, he continued forward, quickly stepping into the bathroom, and opening the cabinet in search of what he wanted. As quickly as he could, he searched for the bottle he wanted. He knew from simply walking home after his encounter with those freaks that if he stood too long his leg would hurt so badly that he would end up on the ground. He'd gotten lucky the first time, since he'd just gotten home when the pain had shot through him, and he'd fallen to the ground clutching the appendage, but he wasn't fond of the possibility of it happening again.

 _Ibuprofen, ibuprofen, ibuprofen,_  he thought, beginning to drop bottles of calcium, iron, and other vitamins into the sink underneath the cabinet. He kind of wished he'd gotten it earlier, since the pain had started up long before he'd actually thought about the stupid pills. Actually, he almost wished he had something stronger, now that he thought about it, but the only thing he had on hand, that he knew of, was ibuprofen. However, he decided to worry about that later, after he found the painkiller he had, even though he hadn't found it yet.  
Growing irritated quickly, Yusuke pulled another bottle out, looked quickly at the label and dropped it into the sink with the growing pile. He repeated the process a few times, and then looked back into the cabinet to find that almost everything was taken out and none of the remaining few was what he wanted. Glaring at the remaining storage, he cursed, "Fuck." Swinging his hand, he knocked the rest of the medicine out of the cabinet, and then swung it closed.

Staring at himself in the mirror, Yusuke continued to glare. His eyes quickly inspected the damage to his face, finding that his jaw was slightly swollen and dark rings surrounded his eyes. There was a small cut above his left eye, and a trail of blood that had dried down the outside of his face. Knowing that that had been how he looked walking down the street, he understood why so many people had stared at him, either in shock, pity, or disgust. He hadn't really paid attention to it, he had had no reason to, but now that he was looking at himself, he wondered what Keiko's reaction would be. What would she think of him when he looked this bad? Growling at the thought, Yusuke's glare hardened, and he suddenly swung his hand back, and slammed it into the mirror. Watching as the glass shattered, he felt some pierce into his skin, and knew he'd just done something really stupid.

"Damn it," he said, staring at the broken glass. Not only would he have to clean up the mess, but he'd also have to replace the mirror, clean his wound, and buy some new pain medicine for the pain shooting through his hand. Shaking his head, he looked down and wondered if he'd broken it, but decided that was the least of his problems at the moment. He still needed to worry about Hiei's possible threat, those two freaks that'd beat him up, his marriage, and the possible threat of Kurama trying to take his wife. Those were his top things to do, not worry about his stupid appearance or if he'd managed to screw up another body part.

Taking a step away from the mess he'd created, he looked down for a moment, and stopped. Staring at the bottle that had been sitting between his feet, he glowered at it. Leaning over, wincing at the pain that went through his body, he grabbed the bottle with his uninjured hand, and squeezed the bottle tightly. He couldn't believe it, he'd done all that, gotten angry, broke the mirror, and the fucking thing he'd wanted had been there the whole time. He swore that ibuprofen bottle was against him.

* * *

"What the hell do you want?"

Kurama sighed, shaking his head. "I simply came to speak with you, Hiei, there's nothing to get upset about," he replied.

Hiei glared harder, "Didn't your mother ever teach you to knock?"

His eyes hardened a little at the words, and he nodded. "Though it is rather rude of you to speak so harshly of one who is dead, yes. My mother did teach me to knock, Hiei, but so far I have had no reason to do so. If I had known what I would have found after the door opened, I would have knocked in the first place, but that was not something I expected to find  _here_."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hiei asked, an eyebrow rising. His voice was a bit dark, but his mind was putting together all the possible things that might be going through Kurama's head at that moment. He didn't like any of them. He especially didn't like the fact that Kurama simply walked into his bedroom, when he should have known Kagome would have wished to stay with him for a few nights. He wasn't the type to pass by an invitation if his girlfriend was willing, though Kagome really was the only one he'd ever put into that category. The rest had been a waste of time.

"I expected to find something like that at Yusuke's house," Kurama replied, his voice losing its new sharpness. "I thought I'd been here enough times that I knew everyone of your routines, but apparently I was wrong, and I apologize. I will knock the next time."

"Good," Hiei scowled. "Now, why the hell are you really here, Kurama? You never come just to have ideal chitchat."

"I wished to see how you were fairing," Kurama said.

"As you have seen, I am fairing quite well. Does no one have any faith in me, or do you simply think that I will push away what brings me happiness?" Hiei asked. He turned his head slightly, before deciding to take a seat next to his friend, instead of standing in the doorway. His eyes quickly went down the hall, hoping that Kagome didn't wake and think he'd left her. He knew she wouldn't be too angry from experience if he had a good reason, so he hoped she'd expect this as one. He wasn't quite sure how she'd react with how dependant she'd become because of that bastard Urameshi.

"One can never tell with you, Hiei," Kurama said, leaning back slightly as Hiei settled himself beside him. He turned his head, and then smiled a little. "But I suppose that Kagome could, even if you tried to hide it."

"Hn, I'm beginning to think you've lost a couple screws," Hiei replied. Crossing his legs, he made himself more comfortable, before giving Kurama his full attention. A slight sneer formed on his lips, and he continued, "Now, tell me what you really want, Kurama. Stop avoiding the subject."

Shaking his head, Kurama said, "That was what I came here to see. I wished to truly see where you'd gotten so far, and if you needed any type of advice."

"I believe I should come to you for advice, but since I've been doing more things with her for quite some time, I believe I already know how to handle this situation," Hiei snorted. "Besides, if she wanted to, she would tell me what she wanted and—"

He sighed, stopping Hiei's sentence, and watched as a slight understanding formed in his eyes. Nodding to himself, Kurama leaned back some more, his head falling a bit to one side. "She's changed, though, hasn't she?" he asked.

"Some," Hiei muttered. "She's more insecure, but I have given her no reason to hold onto that insecurity. In time she will get better."

"Do you know that, or do you just hope she will?" Kurama asked.

Hiei scowled, thinking that was the dumbest question to ever come out of Kurama's mouth. "I know she will."

Kurama nodded, "At least you're optimistic."

"It is not my fault you're being pessimistic about this situation," Hiei said. "Besides, Kurama, why don't you go deal with your own love life, instead of meddling in mine?"

Kurama smirked. "Well, I have found Keiko. She's staying with Yukina currently, and she was working in the bakery with her when I went by. I planned to stop by the next day or so."

"Urameshi's wife is staying with Yukina?"

They both turned there heads when there was a gasp, and found Kagome standing there in a shirt that seemed to be a little to tight on her, and a pair of boxers, both of which looked to be Hiei's clothing. Her face was red, her hands were clenched, and she looked horrified.

"Kagome," Hiei said, beginning to stand.

"He-he's married?" she whispered. She slid to the floor in front of them, her hands in between her legs, as she stared at the floor. She looked completely broken for a moment, but the slight shaking of her shoulders was very strange, almost like she was trying to laugh but unable to.

Hiei took a cautious step toward her.

"He's married," she whispered again. "I-I didn't…"

Hiei stopped, at a loss of what to do. He'd never seen her act this way, and he didn't know how to help her. His heart clenched at the image she was creating around herself, and took another step forward. However, he stopped again when she suddenly lifted her head. He took a step back suddenly at the raging anger he saw in her eyes, and knew that even Kurama had tensed up, seeing it from the corner of his eye. He knew that look in Kagome's eyes, he'd had it directed at him once, and he'd done everything in his power to avoid it if at all possible. It was a look that told everyone someone was going to be hurt.

"That's fucking lying, cheating bastard," she cursed.

Both of them tensed further at her words. Kagome was not known to curse more than once in a sentence unless she was truly ticked off. Hiei tensed further, however, watching as she went to rise.

* * *

Rolling his eyes, he listened as she went off into detail about her sister. Personally, he could give a rat's ass about her stupid little sister, but the look she'd given him made him feel weird. Like he'd suddenly burst into flames if he didn't at least hear her out. So, he sat there, listening as Kagura continued to talk about her little sister who had been pulled out of an abusive home in order to stay with her elder sibling. Apparently Kanna didn't talk much because of it, but when she did, she always had something important to say. He really didn't care, but he felt kind of bad for the kid as Kagura continued, and gave a couple of comments. After that, though, she went off into her little tangent.

"Oh, Inuyasha, I still can't believe you agreed to this," Kagura said, her lips tilting slightly. She'd never felt so happy. "I mean, I know how much Kikyo meant to you."

"That bitch," he huffed.

She blinked, and lifted an eyebrow at his words. "I was under the impression that you two were still at least in each others good graces. Was I wrong?" she asked. She wasn't sure, but she felt like she was becoming apart of something that she didn't want to be apart of, and Inuyasha's attitude was making it worse with each passing moment.

Inuyasha nodded stiffly, hating that he had to say this. "Hell yeah, I couldn't stand that bitch any longer. She may think that I'm still going to put up with her ass, but I'm not even going near her. I'm still kind of surprised that I got enough courage to tell that hag what I really felt."

Kagura grinned a little at his choice of words, and then leaned onto his shoulder some. "Well, then I guess I don't have to worry about you suddenly changing your mind when it comes to this relationship. Though, I do hope you can accept the fact that I am an independent woman and I will not be hounded like some piece of meat," she nodded.

"Feh," Inuyasha replied.

"I mean, I don't want to see the same thing happen to us that happened between my father and mother. My mother was always so weak, she hung onto every little thing, and my father could never pull his head out of his past. They were both always accusing each other of cheating on one another, and then in the end I could have sworn my father was ready to just pull out the shot gun and end it all by taking her life. He was too cowardly to take his own, but he also wasn't man enough to just admit that he was actually cheating on her, and only accusing her of it because he was," Kagura shook her head. "It was a terrible thing to watch, especially once they split apart and my father married Kanna's mother. He just got worse and worse, always talking about how if women in his life had done it once they were going to do it again and all that crap. Even when she hadn't done anything, I mean—Am I boring you, Inuyasha?"

"Huh?"

"I am, aren't I?" she laughed. "I'm sorry, if you had simply told me, I wouldn't have gone off like that. You know, you do have a say if we're going to have a relationship, Inuyasha. It shouldn't be all about me. You have rights as well, and though I like my space, I think you should be able to say something as well," Kagura explained. "We're never going to make this work if we can't work together, after all."

He blinked at her, watching as she cuddled closer to him. He was confused all of a sudden. He'd known Kagura to be bitchy and always talking about how a man could never complete her, yet now she was suddenly into the idea of making it work. He blinked again, thinking about his actual relationship. Now that he'd listened to her say that, and he'd thought about it for a moment, he noticed that Kikyo had most of the say in their relationship.  _When did that happen?_  He thought for a moment, and then tightened his arm around Kagura, thinking that it had become that way. Somewhere along the way, it hadn't been an equal relationship, but Kikyo wearing the pants all the time. He snorted to himself, thinking that they'd need to talk about that sometime.

"Inuyasha?" she said. She snapped her fingers in front of his face again, and scowled when he didn't response. Sighing, she muttered angrily to herself, not realizing that he'd finally turned to her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, now you're paying attention to me?" she said. "I'm surprised."

"Sorry, I was thinking about something," Inuyasha replied.

She nodded, "I see. I guess you're entitled to think to yourself, too. I shouldn't hold your attention every minute that we're together, just as you shouldn't hold mine. We should be as free as the wind when it comes to things like that, but held by chains whenever we truly need attention. Right?"

"Ah, yeah," Inuyasha said. Now he was really confused. He didn't know what she was talking about, since he hadn't been really paying her much attention in the first place. In fact, he'd been silently cursing at Kikyo for putting him into this situation, even though he loved her. Sometimes, she just had the craziest ideas, and this was one of those times. He didn't like this, and he hated the fact that his real girl wasn't on his arm. Kagura was just an annoyance.

"I mean, if our hearts are truly held by someone else, then it is only right that you feel as if you're so tied to them you need to do whatever you need to in order to make them happy," she sighed. "There must always be times whenever—"

 _Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,_  Inuyasha's mind supplied for him. He stopped paying attention to her, and finally rested his head on top of hers; silently praying to everything on the planet she'd shut up soon. Then, hopefully she'd stay silent, instead of talking as if she knew anything about romance. Kikyo was romantic; she knew everything there was about romance, while Kagura simply went off on herself. Kagura was not romantic, she was not easy to be around, but she was an annoyance that was for sure.

For a moment, though, he almost felt like she was trying to hint toward something.

* * *

She struggled against him, her fingers digging into the arm he held around her waist. "Let me go!" she hissed. "Let me go so that I can hurt that fucking bastard! How dare he act as if he is single, when he has a wife!"

Hiei kept his hold firm, feeling her continue her struggles, trying to get to the door. He knew that she wasn't one for violence; that she only went into a violent phase herself if she was very pissed off, or if it was simply playful violence. Never, though, had he seen her react so strongly to something, and this was rather surprising. Especially when her elbow nearly knocked his teeth out, and he tightened his hold in order to keep her still. Her foot slammed against his shin, and he grunted, silently asking his friend to intervene. Yes, he wouldn't mind seeing Yusuke's ass kicked by his girl, but he didn't want her to end up in jail, or worse, either.

"Let me go, Hiei!" she nearly screamed. "I'm going to give that man a piece of my mind. I'm not going to hurt him— _much_."

"Perhaps you should think about this before you go off doing something you may regret later, Kagome," Kurama suggested. He noticed that Hiei seemed quite reluctant to allow her to go off on her fit of violence. But he winced slightly when he saw her elbow ram into his ribs, wondering if that was going to leave a bruise.

"Fuck you!" Kagome snapped.

Kurama blinked, stunned by the sudden change. Never had Kagome turned on him, cursing at him. She's always treated him as if he were family, yet she'd suddenly turned upon him simply because she was angry. Kurama allowed his eyes to harden, and stepped in front of her while she struggled in Hiei's arms. "Listen to me, Kagome. This is not you. You shouldn't allow your foolish fit of rage to control your actions. Yes, I may even wish to hit Yusuke, but you must think about this. It is best to do things slowly, allow them to progress and watch as it does, and wait for the moment when he will get what is coming to him. Now is not the time for you to do this, though you may wish to."

"Shut up!" she snapped.

He grabbed her chin, watching as she suddenly jerked against him at his sudden assaulted. "Then listen to what I'm saying," he said, his voice hard. He may not like being so rude toward her, but she needed to understand that she could not do this at this time. Doing so could have very bad consequences for her, especially if she attacked Yusuke in his own home.

She stopped, her angry posture beginning to soften. She turned her head, feeling Hiei's arms loosen, but he didn't move from her. Shaking her head, she said, "Think of what she's feeling, though, if she knows. I… I…" She turned, wrapping her arms around Hiei and allowing her knees to give out. "I'm so sorry," she whimpered.

Hiei patted her head a bit, still at a loss of what to do. "You said you would try," he reminded her softly.

She looked up, her eyes feeling with tears. She smiled a bit, and then nodded. "I will."

"Good," he replied.

"I'll try, so that the next time I see him, I won't break down," she whispered. "I want to make him pay. Not for what he did to me, but the fact that he made it seem like he wasn't with someone. If I had seen a ring on his finger…" she paused, "I would never have done anything. I'm so sorry I'm blind, Hiei. I'm so sorry."

Kurama's eyes softened, watching her cling to him. However, he felt at that moment that she would get better. Hiei was giving her support, and she was beginning to fight against the feelings she felt. Not for herself, but simply because of the other woman that may have been hurt. He sighed, and then closed his eyes. Kagome was always thinking about others over herself, which was proven when she'd apologized to Hiei just moments before. She wasn't thinking about herself, but the other woman that may have been hurt, and most likely had. She needed to see, and she might already, that this was Yusuke's fault for apparently taking off his wedding ring in the first place.

Hiei's hands tightened a little at the words that fell from her mouth. Yusuke wasn't wearing his wedding ring, which gave him another perfectly good reason to beat the crap out of him. Not only had his hurt his girl and his actions continued to do so when he wasn't even near, but he'd played with her. He should have realized Yusuke wasn't wearing his stupid little ring, but apparently he'd been in too angry to think about it. He was lucky he hadn't thought about it, since it would have been something in Kagome's story that didn't add up, since she wouldn't willingly go with a married man. He probably would have left her on the street that night, instead of taking her home, and Yusuke was fucking lucky that he hadn't thought about it at the time.

"I'll try," she muttered. "I promise I'll try." She still wished to hit Yusuke a few times, but she knew that she couldn't do that. She couldn't leave Hiei alone, for she'd hurt him that way. She thought about it, and realized that she was hurting him by hurting, as he'd mentioned. She hated the fact that she was hurting him, and promised herself that she would get over this. She would, and then she'd make sure she never hurt him again. After that she'd hurt that blasted man who'd lied to her and possibly made her hurt another woman.


	9. Chapter 9

Once again, she gently wiped the cut she'd made on Hiei's shin, before placing the bandage over the small area. A small smile touched her lips at her work, knowing that it was something that she could at least do correctly, even if she tried not to. Everything had seemed to go downhill, so it was nice to know that she could still do one thing that she'd been good at. Her eyes turned upward, and smiled a little more when she noticed that his eyebrow was raised, obviously wondering why her attitude had diminished so much in so little time.

Thinking about it, she told herself to ignore the thoughts rushing through her head. She knew that if she allowed herself to think about what had happened, what they had said, she'd become just as angry once again. She had possibly helped in not only ruining a marriage, but also hurting another woman. Though she knew it wasn't in her best interest to think about the disloyalty of the man she'd let foolishly sway her, she wanted to know about the woman she may have hurt. She knew it might make her even angrier, but at least she may be able to get a few things off her chest.

She could handle being slapped a few times—she knew she deserved it.

Sighing, her smile faded just a little when she turned to the bruise forming just below Hiei's ribs. She touched it gently, feeling him stiffen, and nearly giggled at the fact that he was trying to make it seem like the small wound didn't hurt. It was almost a shame his tough-guy act couldn't truly hide the fact that she had managed to hurt him, even if only a tiny bit. Her smile faded a little more; she didn't want to hurt him at all, even if it was only a bruise. She wanted to crawl into his arms and never leave, not bring him pain in any way. She was only happy that she hadn't hurt him enough that it would never fade away or heal over, because that meant he'd get better.

She quickly shoved the thoughts that again leapt to the front of her mind. She'd hurt him already, even if it wasn't physically. She'd hurt him the way that Inuyasha had managed to hurt her, and she felt that she could now be considered scum, or close to it. Yes, she knew that those around her would tell her otherwise, but she truly felt that she should be pushed into a small room and never let out again—that way she couldn't hurt anyone. At the same moment, though, she knew, even if he didn't show it often, that Hiei loved her, and would most likely open the door to that room in order to take her back out into the light. Either that, or join her in order to keep her company, both of which she'd embrace lovingly if he was the one to give them to her.

Her attention drew from him to Kurama, sitting across from them smiling. She frowned at him, wondering what was going through that mind of his. Sometimes she thought she could compare him to a fox, which was ironic that he'd been nicknamed after the famous thief, Kurama Youko. The famous silver fox of legend, which at one point she'd teased him about, though she really couldn't remember the exact reason anymore. She had to admit that the nickname was perfect, since he probably had a similar way of thinking when it came to the legendary thief, even if the silver fox had only been that, a legend.

"Kurama?" she asked, when she noticed that he hadn't stopped looking at her. She had always felt that she could relate to him when it came to family. She remembered telling him not long after they'd met, Hiei having introduced them when he'd come to visit, that she felt almost like he was her brother. Though he had a very exotic look, she felt that if it was ever possible, they could have been family. Some may have asked if he was her boyfriend, since she'd spent nearly as much time with him as she had Hiei after meeting him, but she would have told them that Kurama was too polite her tastes. She liked someone a little rough around the edges—though Hiei's were probably razor sharp instead of simply rough.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "You've been staring at me for a while now, and I think you're starting to burn a hole into the back of my head."

His smile grew a bit at the corners, as he said, "I was merely praising your skills silently, Kagome."

Hiei turned his risen eyebrow at his friend, noticing that the man seemed to be trying to make Kagome feel better, or distract her from her anger earlier. He was positive it was still bubbling under the surface, and there was no doubt in his mind that she might go at Yusuke if she saw him again. In truth, he was just glad that anger wasn't directed at him, and that she'd promised to try, which meant she wasn't going to get herself hurt. Yusuke, even after all the years that Kuwabara had tried to make him change, wouldn't have any trouble hitting her if she struck him. True, she  _could_  get herself tossed into a jail somewhere, but that probably wasn't as worse as how much Yusuke could hurt her, possibly putting her into a hospital somewhere. Yusuke probably wouldn't even feel guilt until after he realized he'd done it.

He allowed his fist to clench as he watched Kagome eye Kurama for a moment and then turn her attention back to him. He didn't want to see her injured in any way, especially not to the point that she ended up on life support in a coma, or anything else his traitorous mind could think of at that moment. Even thinking of her that way made him ill, caused to him think for a brief second that if she lost control, if she was  _even_  with Yusuke alone, then he wouldn't be there to protect her. True, it would be Yusuke's fault for placing her there, and her own for possibly going after him, but indirectly his, because he'd promised long ago to protect her once he'd been told what occurred between her and Inuyasha. He didn't want to break that promise, even indirectly.

He wanted to protect her in any way possible.

"Is that better, Hiei?" she asked quietly, staring up at him. She didn't want to touch him anymore if it was going to bring him pain, and she'd noticed the way his hand had clenched. She wasn't quite sure whether it was because of something she'd done, or something he was thinking about, and that bothered her. She'd been with him so long that she could normally tell instantly whether he was simply thinking or if it was because of something uncomfortable happening. She was disappointed that her current weakness  _was_  making her blind to everything around her, even the man she loved.

"Quite," he replied.

She nodded, before climbing up onto the couch beside him. She wasn't surprised that much when his arm snaked around her shoulders and pulled her closer. Relaxing, she allowed her eyes to close and hoped that maybe in her dreams she wouldn't be plagued with so many emotions at once. She wanted to get better for him, wanted the guilt to go away, but she couldn't stop it from building up underneath the surface. She knew that sooner or later, though she hoped it didn't, the emotion would come back to haunt her. She'd always had the worst of luck in similar situations, though none of them could compare.

* * *

"Ohh, and he was just so cute, too! It is such a shame that all the good ones are straight," he sighed.

 

He shook his head, his eyes closing in disappointment. "Jakotsu, he hurt Kagome," he said. He knew that Jakotsu was going to be Jakotsu, but he'd never expected his brother to actually start talking constantly about a man that hurt the woman he considered his sister. Though, in truth, he wasn't all that surprised.

Jakotsu sighed, "I know!" His tone was very dramatic, before his eyes turned serious and he crushed the soda can in his hand. "I can't wait until I see him again, just to see how much we messed up his pretty little face. I'm sure that it would look even better if there was blood, if only a little, spilling from his mouth, and a nasty scar above his brow." A distant look filled his eyes, though he knew that he should have been paying attention to Bankotsu.

"Idiot," Bankotsu sighed, shaking his head.

"Hm?" Jakotsu blinked, his eyes filled with happiness again. "Was there something you wanted, brother?"

"Not really," Bankotsu said. "I just wanted to know how the others were. I'm having a hell of a time trying to keep Sango from going on a rampage, mostly from going over to Hiei's at every hour in order to drag Kagome home by the hair. Seriously, she needs him at this moment, bit Sango's got it in her head that two men have hurt her already, thus Hiei's going to as well."

"So, you're having woman problems?" Jakotsu nodded to himself. "I told you women were no good, big brother! You never listened to old Jakotsu, though."

"Old my ass," Bankotsu snorted. "Besides, if women are no good, are you implying that Kagome's no good either?"

Jakotsu gasp, nearly falling out of his chair. He managed to grab the table at the last moment, and stared at Bankotsu with his mouth open, his eyes as wide as he could get them. Then, they narrowed, and he swung at his brother, nearly succeeding in hitting him in the head, but Bankotsu managed to move before it happened. "How dare you say that about my cute little Kagome, Bankotsu!" he yelled. "There would be no light in the world if Kagome's bright smile could not be seen!"

"Hey, hey!" Bankotsu raised his hands in defense, "You're the one who implied it!"

"I did nothing of the sort, brother," Jakotsu yelled. "I would never imply such a thing about Kagome!"

Sighing, he rolled his eyes at Jakotsu's dramatic performance. " _Anyway_ ," he continued, "how are the others?"

"Fine," Jakotsu smiled. "Suikotsu, Renkotsu, and Mukotsu are planning on taking a small vacation," he turned his head a muttered, "they won't tell me where, though." He scowled, but turned his attention back to Bankotsu, seeing his brow raise, "Ginkotsu is… um… actually, I'm not quite sure at the moment, and… ah… I was supposed to tell you something."

"Yeah?" Bankotsu smirked.

"I don't remember, honestly!" Jakotsu cried. "I'm sorry, brother."

"It's alright, Jakotsu. However, you're missing somebody," Bankotsu said, taking a sip from his soda. "There are seven of us, remember?"

"There are?" Jakotsu asked, his face tightening a little in concentration. He brought up his fingers, counting out their brothers', seeing if there were indeed seven all together. However, when he continued to come up with four, he frowned in displeasure, and turned his eyes to Bankotsu's amused ones. "What?" he snapped.

"You were always bad at counting," Bankotsu said, shaking his head. "But I guess right now it doesn't matter." He glanced down when music echoed out of his pocket suddenly, and sighed. Really, he loved his girl, but she'd been calling him and trying to come up with evil plans on how to take that prick Urameshi Yusuke down a couple notches way too much in the last twenty-four hours. And the ring tone told him it had to be Sango.

"Your phones ringing," Jakotsu smiled.

"Ha, ha," Bankotsu laughed darkly, clearly unimpressed by Jakotsu's observation. He twitched as the ringing continued, not wanting to answer it at the moment. It was the exact reason he'd decided to go see his brothers', telling her he'd be back in a couple of hours or so. It couldn't have been more than two.

"You better answer it," Jakotsu giggled, "it sounds important."

Bankotsu growled at the fact that Jakotsu so obviously enjoyed his current pain. So, he dug his hand into his pocket and fished out his cell, flipping it open in order to allow Sango to begin yelling into his ear. However, he was quite amazed when she was simply talking calmly with him, saying that Kagome had called, and that she was going to be staying at Hiei's for a while, before coming home, and Sango expected him and Jakotsu to come see her. Then, she hung up on him.

Jakotsu blinked as Bankotsu stared at the phone in shock, though he hadn't said anything during the one-sided conversation. "So…" Jakotsu blinked, "was it important?"

Bankotsu twitched, "That bitch hung up on me."

Jakotsu laughed, "Ohh, Sango's mad at Bankotsu! He's not going to get any for a while!" He clapped his hands together, greatly amused with the fact that Sango was angry with his brother. "I just can't wait to tell Kagome and that little cutie of hers. I'm sure that they'll find it as amusing as I do that Bankotsu's going to be kicked out of his woman's bed for quite some time before he gets to fu—"

"S-Shut up!"

"Ohh, big brother's embarrassed!"

Bankotsu glowered at him, "I hate you, Jakotsu."

"You're so cruel," Jakotsu gasp. "I'm telling Kagome!"

"Oh, no, you're not!"

* * *

She smiled sweetly, tapping her fingers against his hand, watching as his eye caught her own. "So, your name is Kouga, correct?"

 

He nodded.

She nearly rolled her eyes. "What exactly is a handsome man like yourself doing in a place like this?" she asked.

"This club?" he asked. "I always come in here, and I used to a lot more…"

"Why did you stop coming in as much as you used to?" she asked.

"My ex-girlfriend liked this place a lot more than I did," Kouga replied. "She was very nice, but she didn't like the fact that I was still thinking about my last girl. She reminded me of her a lot, you know, so it was hard to quit thinking about her."

"I can understand why she wouldn't have liked that," she scowled. "Was there a reason she couldn't stop thinking about your girlfriend before her?"

"I was going to marry her," Kouga replied. "She was great, but her grandfather didn't like me. He'd had a grudge against my father or something stupid like that."

"I see," she nodded. "Though I'm still a little disappointed that she couldn't see the reason why you needed a little more time to adapt to the new relationship. I'm almost ashamed that she and I are of the same gender, since I'm sure I would have understood. I just recently broke up with my last boyfriend, you know."

"Yeah?" Kouga asked. "What was his name?"

"Inuyasha," she replied.

"Inuyasha?" Kouga narrowed his eyes. "I know a guy by that name. You wouldn't happen to be that chick that he was so in love with that he was cheating on another woman with her, would you?"

"Unfortunately," she sighed, closely her eyes and shaking her head in disgust. "I almost wish that I'd known."

"Word was that you did," Kouga said.

"That's what they're saying, hm?" she sighed. "I guess I can't stop the rumors, but I wish that they'd at least ask me first. She was my cousin, you know. I love her, and I hate to see anything bad happen to her. I hated him when I found out that he'd been cheating on my cousin, when he'd told me, that he'd told her, he no longer wanted to be with her." She shook her head again.

He frowned, and turned his head to the side. Something about this didn't add up, and he stood up from the stool he'd been sitting on because of the feeling he was getting. Besides, he still missed Ayame and Mihoko, and he didn't really want to get into another relationship at the moment. "Well, that's all really nice and all, but I have to go… ah, what's your name?"

"Kikyo," she said. "Kikyo."

"Right, I have to go, Kikyo," Kouga frowned. "Maybe we'll meet some other time, though I doubt it. I have to go to a business party within the next couple of weeks, and I'm going to be out of town."

"Oh, if you want, I could give you my number and you could—"

"No, I think it'd be best if we didn't," Kouga said. "After all, I do have a lot to do, considering the fact that my schedule is really full, and I'd never know when I'd be able to contact you. So, maybe if we meet again…?"

She nodded, "I understand." Kikyo watched him walk away, waving lightly at her, and snorted to herself. She didn't like him that much anyway, and there were plenty of other men around that would take her up. She was, after all, a very beautiful woman, and she was positive that many of them would come running now that that stupid idiot was gone.

For a moment she wondered what Inuyasha was doing. No doubt he was trying to get away from Kagura, though she wouldn't be that surprised if Kagura managed to get him to stay longer than he wanted to. She'd always known Kagura to be the type to get what she wanted when she really wanted it, but not otherwise. She was the type to go after what she wanted, but her family usually held her back, and she had to find ways of bypassing them before she'd turned eighteen. However, she'd never really gotten to know Kagura personally, since she'd known that she'd had a thing for her Inuyasha, and she hadn't liked that.

Sighing a little, Kikyo brought her martini up to her lips and took a long sip. The alcohol went down her throat nicely, and she smirked at the feeling it gave her. She hadn't been drinking long, but she knew that it wouldn't take much to affect her. It had always been something that she hated, since she couldn't hold her alcohol as well as she'd wanted to. Pouting, she turned her head a little, taking another sip, as a hand landed on her shoulder. She nearly jumped, but managed to keep herself in her seat.

"Ah, Kikyo."

Turning her head, she narrowed her eyes. "Onigumo."

* * *

His hand ran through her hair for a moment, as her head leaned further into his neck. "Is there anything you would like for dinner?" he asked, his voice soft. He was not sure how well anything he cooked would come out, but he'd been able to eat what he cooked and lived until he'd met her, she should be fine.

 

Kagome blinked, "I thought I promised to cook tonight?" She wondered why he asked, since she'd never thought of actually seeing Hiei wandering around a kitchen, asking her what she'd like for dinner that night. Of course, at the moment he was not in the kitchen, but that was not the point. She eyed him carefully; snuggling deeper into his side, as she thought of the turn her life was probably going to take, with or without him. She didn't doubt that he loved her, but she wondered for a moment just how long he'd be able to stand looking at her.

"If you wish to, you may," he said. "I merely wished to know what you'd like this night."

"I donno," she muttered. "I'm fine right now."

"Hn, we both need to eat sometime tonight," Hiei reminded her. "I will not allow you to go through starvation, no matter how much you may wish to."

Her lips turned downward into a frown. "I don't wish to starve." She blushed a bit, "Though I can understand why you might think that. I'm sor—"

"You do not need to apologize," Hiei sighed. He almost missed her independence, but he felt that she would get better in time. Soon he'd start to see her moving back toward the way she had been, and if she didn't, then he'd try to help her so that she did. He loved her that much, and he knew that she loved him enough that she would do it if he asked her to. In a way he didn't want to force it on her, but if he had to, if she didn't start getting better, then he would take that take step.

"I know, I just—" she stopped. "I'm sorr—"

His fingers slipped away from her lips, having silenced her before she was able to apologize once again. For a moment he debated on getting her angry, roughhousing with her a little, but silenced that thought before it went to far. He didn't want to hurt her, it would be worse than Yusuke hurting her, even if he was only doing it in order to bring out the side of her he was so used to—the side he loved more than anything in the world.

She smiled sadly. "I need to stop doing that, I just can't seem to be able to make myself stop. I would apologize, but I know you don't want me to do that." She leaned more into his side, glad that Kurama had not seen that. It was bad enough that he had seen her get angry and try to rush out the door in order to give Urameshi Yusuke a large piece of her mind, possibly take a few swings at him. Seeing her apologize over and over again probably made her seem even weaker, and she didn't like the thought of being weak in Hiei's eyes.

She really didn't like it.

"Hn," Hiei sighed, his fingers running through her hair once more. "Sesshoumaru called after Kurama left to remind me that there is a business party soon. He wished to know if you would be able to accompany me, since Rin has wished to see you for a while now. Apparently she misses you."

"Rin?" she said softly. "That would be nice."

He nodded. "Now, about dinner…"

"We could go somewhere," Kagome smiled. She really didn't wish to, not when there would be so many people that could give her dirty looks. However, she reminded herself that not everything knew her, not that many people could actually know what she'd done, so it would be alright. Only those who'd she'd told could give her such looks, but she hoped that they wouldn't since she cared about them, all of them but Yusuke.

"We could, if you wish to," he replied.

She smiled, "Perhaps, but not right now."

He nodded in agreement. "Yes, not right now."

Snuggling a little more into him, she bit the inside of her lip. She wondered for a moment what Urameshi's wife was doing, how she felt at that moment. She knew there was a chance that his wife might never find out about what she'd done, what  _they'd_  done, but there was also a chance that she already knew. If she did, then she wanted to at least talk to her, to see how she felt, and to apologize for what she'd done. To explain, though she knew that she didn't have any room to do so, but she felt that it would help her guilt a little. Then she'd be able to truly do as Hiei asked her to, and go on in life loving him as she'd done before.

* * *

The tinkling of the doorbell echoed into the bakery, and Keiko smiled, lifting her head from the book that she'd been reading. Working had helped her stop thinking about the hurt that continued to pierce into her heart at night each time she wondered why Yusuke hadn't come to see her yet, to at least try to explain. Each day she wondered more and more if he truly wanted for their relationship to live on, and each day she wondered if he was sitting on their couch in their home watching that stupid tape, enjoying the fact that her heart was bleeding. It was hard to deny, since she knew that Yusuke was stubborn, and she wasn't sure about his feelings anymore.

"Hello."

Keiko blinked, her heard snapping up completely at the kind voice. Her lips pursed together, and she stared at the exotic looking man, though his accent was perfect, telling her that he was either native or had lived there was quite a long time. She blinked again, her current worry fogging her mind a little, as she wondered where she'd heard that voice before. "Oh, hello, is there anything I can help you with?" she asked, still smiling.

"Why yes."

Keiko frowned a bit. "Do I know you?"


	10. Chapter 10

"You have no room to be upset with me!"

"You're the one that wanted to get away for a while," she snapped back. "So why don't you just go back to whatever it was that you were doing, and leave me alone for a while?"

"Hey, I just wanted to go see Jakotsu. Do you have a problem with that all of a sudden?" Bankotsu asked, glaring at her a little more. "I just wanted to go out so that you weren't scheming in my ear for an hour or two. I told you'd I'd come back, and I even brought Jakotsu with me so that when Kagome comes home we can talk to her, or whatever it was you wanted for us to do."

"Kagome needs a constant in her life," Sango hissed. "I just wanted for you to  _see_  her, to make her see that we aren't going to toss her out of the street because of a little mistake."

"Little?" Bankotsu stopped himself from going further, biting his tongue. "I understand your concern, but I saw the way Hiei reacted to Yusuke. If you're so worried about a constant in her life, then maybe you should talk to him. From what I saw, he's not going to suddenly dump her because she made a mistake. Hell, I've made plenty of mistakes, but at least I've ended up with something good. She's ended up with a guy that's not going to simply drop her, that's more than I can say for a lot of guys I know."

Sango stiffened. "I had no doubt he wouldn't leave her. However, Kagome needs more than one person." She narrowed her eyes, "Besides, I wasn't scheming in your ear. I was simply telling you a few of the things I wanted to do if that bastard ever decided to come here searching for her, for whatever sick reason he may have. It's not my fault you can't handle that."

The sound of crunching popcorn filled their ears, and they both turned to glare at Jakotsu, who'd once again taken a seat on the couch in front of them. He looked rather delighted, smiling at them in a way he only could, continuing to eat the popcorn that he'd so obviously just made. Sango, snorting in Bankotsu's face, watching as he crossed his arms stubbornly, went to sit beside the other man. Her hand reached into the popcorn bowl, and she turned her attention completely to him.

"Is the show over?" Jakotsu asked.

"For the moment," Sango muttered, popping a few pieces into her mouth. "Besides, he's being childish again. Just look at him, crossing his arms like a teenage boy who just got into a fight with his first girlfriend. And that glint in his eye, telling everyone that he's starting to get annoyed, but won't do anything about it because he knows he's in a losing battle."

"It's been a couple of hours!" Bankotsu snorted. "How can you still be angry with me?"

"Maybe because you woke her at nine the morning, when the shrine doesn't open until ten thirty," Jakotsu commented.

Bankotsu glared at him for a moment, hissing, "She's always up by eight. It's not my fault that today was the one day of the year that she decides she doesn't want to get up that early." However, the look that his girlfriend sent him told him otherwise, and he stopped his rant, instead of continuing as he was going to. Then, the feeling of dread in his chest on got worse when Jakotsu sent him an amused glanced.  _Traitor._

"Actually," Sango popped another piece of popcorn into her mouth, "Bankotsu, you are the reason I decided to sleep in today of all days. I didn't expect for you to come back so soon, since you told me that you were sick of me bitching constantly. You probably don't remember doing it, you were a little drunk before you took that cup of coffee and went to see Jakotsu, but I do remember you saying it. And I remember you telling me that you already knew that Kagome needed your help, you didn't need me constantly reminding you that you need to be there, or kick Urameshi's ass simply because it's her time of need."

Jakotsu gasp. "You never told me you said that, big brother! No wonder you're always having woman problems!"

"It's not my fault she thinks Hiei's going to suddenly turn on Kagome," Bankotsu argued, still wondering if he had said that. He wasn't quite sure; he probably had though, especially if he was a little drunk. Alcohol was wonderful, but that didn't mean that he should be drinking it whenever he decided to. He'd noticed that whenever Sango decided to comment on something that he didn't like, he had the tendency to start complaining with his loose tongue, yet he never remember any of it.

"I never said that!" Sango scowled. "I told you that Hiei is probably the only man that's loved Kagome as much as he does. He might not say it, but he shows it enough, unlike that idiot Inuyasha ever did."

"Inuyasha," Jakotsu sighed. "He was a cutie, too. It was a shame that he was so into women, I could have made him feel so much better than I'm sure that blasted Kikyo can." Leaning slightly into his hand, he put more popcorn into his mouth, and allowed his gaze to darken. "We could have been such a cute couple. Him and his rough exterior, and me and my stunning beauty."

"Anyway," Sango continued, "every man that's been with Kagome before Hiei has usually had a hidden agenda. Hiei's the only one that's with her because he wants to be, not because he wants something from her. And, he's also the only man that's been with her this long without hurting her."

Jakotsu blinked, "What about that little sweetheart… Hobo…? Hogo?"

"Akitoki Hojo?" Bankotsu asked. "That little bastard that was always bringing Kagome gifts when she got sick?"

"Yes, he was rather cute, though he had that youthful look," Jakotsu nodded.

"Agh," Sango groaned. "That guy still comes around sometimes, but not as often since Hiei scared him off. I think he had the best intentions, but he's not Kagome's type. I always told her that she's going to get herself hurt, but she has to go for the bad boys." Sango, however, allowed a small frown to form on her lips, and then said, "But, he was only one guy, and Kagome never liked him that way. He might have treated her right, but I heard that almost a day after Hojo met Hiei, he asked out some girl named Setsuko. Shows how faithful he was once he found out what type of guy Kagome liked."

"Holy crap," Bankotsu muttered, "that guy got a girl that fast?"

Sango stared at him as if he could get dumber by the moment, before sighing to herself. Sometimes she wondered why she picked Bankotsu of all people to be the one to hold her heart so tenderly in his hands—at least with him, though, she was sure that he wasn't going to start touching other women inappropriately. "He was considered one of the brightest, nicest, and popular boys when we were in middle school and high school," she replied. "And with him always chasing Kagome, I guess that the other girls, the ones that wanted him, thought he was playing hard to get. However, it was quite clear that he did notice or at least acknowledged their attention in some way—which, by the way, made me wonder how faithful he truly would have been if he had gotten Kagome."

Jakotsu simply shook his head, "All the good ones are always straight." He stuffed more popcorn into his mouth in his sadness, happy to have the taste of butter distract him from his slight depression.

Bankotsu's eyes sharpened, "Makes me wonder, too. I might not have liked or trusted Hiei that much until I got to truly know him, the way he ticks at least, but that is a little odd. Tell me," he asked hotly, "was Hojo ever close to this girl before he asked her out?"

Sango's brow creased as she thought, wondering that herself for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded, "Now that you mention it,  _yeah_." She felt her anger begin to boil underneath her skin, realizing that for some reason Hojo had also been trying to use Kagome, since it was quite clear he knew and acknowledged in some way Setsuko's lust for him. "Kagome and I used to see them heading off down the street together, laughing, and Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi would tell Kagome that she better hurry before that girl snatches him away. Not that Kagome cared, but Hojo did seem to rub up against that girl whenever he thought we weren't looking."

Jakotsu allowed his mouth to fall open, a piece of popcorn falling from his lips and landing on his lap. His eyes sharpened much like Bankotsu's had, as his tone hardened, "That boy was possibly sleeping with a tramp when he was pursuing my sweet, sweet Kagome?"

Bankotsu growled, "It seems that way." He muttered quietly to himself for a moment, and then continued, "And it also seems that  _Hobo_  needs to be taught a lesson the next time he decides to show up. I think I might just pass this information along to Hiei, see what he thinks about there being another man out there trying to hurt her."

"Not if I tell him first," Sango hissed. "Or beat the crap out of that  _innocent_  little punk the next time I see him."

* * *

Her lips thinned to a pencil line, as she tapped her fingernails lightly against the wooden table she sat at. She did not like the fact that she had been found by that idiot in such a place—especially after she'd tried to catch the attention of that handsome man Kouga. Of course at the time she hadn't realized that he was the same Kouga that Inuyasha always bitched about, just as he did with his brother quite often, until early this morning, but that wasn't important. What was important was that that blasted Onigumo had found her inside that club.

Kikyo's eyes hardened a bit more, hatred bristling underneath her flesh. At one point in time she'd liked the man, until she'd found out that he lusted after her to a disturbing level, but that time was over. Now she wanted nothing to do with him, and as fate would have it, he crossed into her life once more. Really there was nothing she could do about that, but her hatred for the man, her disgust at the fact that he had gone to  _that_  level, had nearly made her run. She had not run, though, which had only made the experience worse.

Huffing, she wished that Inuyasha would return soon. He'd left that morning muttering about Kagura wanting to see him before she went to work—that was nearly three hours ago. With so much amount of time having passed, she wondered what exactly Inuyasha was doing with Kagura that made him stay away from her warm embrace for so long. It didn't make sense that he would be gone  _this_  long if Kagura had to get to work, she doubted that the woman went to work this late in the morning. So, where was he? It was an honest question, especially when she wanted him, because she knew, in some way, he would be able to help her wipe clean the memory of Onigumo the night before and then she would go on with life once more.

The door suddenly slammed, and Kikyo allowed her head to shoot up quickly, but upon hearing Inuyasha's low mutters allowed herself to relax. She smirked slightly at the hold that she still had over him, even after all this time, as he muttered about Kagura and the traffic. He stepped into the room she occupied not soon afterward, his red shirt bright against the white walls, which caught her attention. And, as she knew he would, he distracted her from the memory of Onigumo she had when he smiled slightly in embarrassment toward her. "Inuyasha," she greeted, her voice still a bit tired.

Inuyasha took notice of this almost instantly, his concern for her wellbeing rising to the surface, "Are you alright, Kikyo?"

"Yes," she nodded. There was no reason to tell him that she had crossed paths with Onigumo once more, because then he would wish to know where, and that would lead to unwelcome questions. Especially after she told him that she went to a club without informing him, or at least asking him if he wanted to go with her, since he did know of her love for dancing.

Inuyasha was not convinced. He stared hard at her, taking in the way she leaned lightly against the table she sat at, and the way her eyelids slid slightly closed after a few moments of silence. "You look beat," he told her, "maybe you should try getting some more sleep?" Then, he scowled, and said, "I wouldn't mind sleeping some more myself. That stupid bitch Kagura kept yapping in my ear until she suddenly jumped up, said she was running late, and rushed out the door without another word. I swear, I told her four times that it was nearly time for her to go, but that stupid bitch wouldn't listen to me."

Kikyo laughed a bit, before asking, "What did Kagura speak of?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "I didn't really give a fuck."

"I figured as much," Kikyo replied. "However, I do believe the idea of some more sleep is an excellent one, Inuyasha. But," she looked at him and batted her eyelashes, "I'm also feeling a bit stiff, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a very good rest."

A smirk appeared on Inuyasha's face as his eyes lit up with delight at the thought of touching her. "I could give you a massage if you wanted one?" he suggested. He knew she'd take him up on the offer, she always did, and then he usually got her wrapped up in the sheets not long after he was done. He loved her passion, and he loved the way this brought it out of her.

Kikyo turned her head, smirking a bit when he couldn't see her face. She rolled her shoulder, allowing the light yukata to fall open, revealing some skin to him. "I would like that," she said at last.

Yes, she would definitely take him up on that offer. After all, he'd done it enough times that she knew she would be able to fall asleep as he did so, especially with how tired she was. Plus, she would be able to easily forget about that stupid Onigumo and his stupid assumption that just because Inuyasha wasn't with her, she wasn't still with him. She could only hope that sick fuck didn't start following her around when she went to find herself a lover while Inuyasha was with Kagura, since he might also find that she  _was_  still with Inuyasha as well. Then her fun would be over, she might lose her dear Inuyasha—so completely wrapped around her finger—, and have to find some other way to support herself.

* * *

"Yes, in fact," he smiled.

Keiko allowed her confusion to show clearly on her face. However, before she could reply she heard a slight noise behind her and turned to find that Yukina was now standing there. Her friend was staring at the person who'd come into the shop with a smile on her face. She figured he must not be that bad, since Yukina was smiling at him and had come out to greet him herself, it seemed. But, she still couldn't get the nagging feeling that she knew him to leave her alone, but the memory was distant, most of her last five years having been devoted to raising her daughter and spending time with her husband whenever she could. Not only that, but visiting her family if she had time, and trying to make sure that Yusuke remembered they had a date for that night, instead of working late.

Yukina smiled a little more, her voice drifting softly toward the person who'd been conversing with Keiko. "Oh, hello," she said, "Shuichi."

The male smiled, "You may call me Kurama if you wish to, Yukina; everyone else does." His green eyes glittered, and Keiko knew that he was native to the land, no matter how exotic his looks were—his accent was perfect, flawless, and his voice so smooth. Not that she wanted to notice, she was still slightly wishing that her stupid husband would realize she was waiting for him to come to her, but she did.

Yukina shook her head, "I still don't know why your friends always insisted on giving you that nickname." She allowed herself to think for a moment, and then asked him, "Are you here for the usual?"

"Yes, Yukina," Kurama replied, dipping his head a bit to her. He watched as she nodded back and then scurried back through the door she'd exited, most likely to get him what he wished for. His mother had passed on her liking for sweets, though he knew that she'd deny it if she was still alive, even when it was so obvious in the first place. However, once Yukina had returned to the back, he turned his attention back to the woman that Yusuke had carelessly hurt.

Keiko, sure that Yukina would get whatever this man's usual was, return to sitting on the stool she'd been given for the day. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to sit on, but it was better than simply standing the entire time. Then, slowly, she allowed her eyes to slip back up to the man standing in front of the counter, and frowned. She knew that she knew him, but she wasn't quite positive if she really did. True, he'd told her that she knew him, therefore he knew her, but that wasn't something she was going to so easily believe. Not after Yusuke told her he loved her and let her walk out of the house, only to come back and find out he'd been cheating on her.

That was a blow she  _never_  wished to take again.

Kurama allowed a slight smirk to tug at his lips, noticing the interest she showed toward him. It was quite clear that she was curious about him, whether it was because of his foreign looks or the fact that he knew her, he could not tell, but she was curious. That was what he wanted, since he was sure, with a little patience, that he would easily be able to sweep her off her feet. Then, after a few moments of silent, he asked, "Are you wondering how it is that I know you?"

Keiko nearly jumped off her stool at his voice, but shook off the embarrassment soon after. With a small frown, she said, "Yes, in fact. I feel like I know you, but I'm not quite sure about a few things at this moment in time."

Deciding it best not to mention that he knew of Yusuke's cheating, or that he knew the girl he'd done it with through blackmail, he nodded in understanding. "It's not hard to believe," he said, "Yusuke—"

"You know Yusuke?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. If he was there to rub in the fact that Yusuke had cheated on her, and with such a pretty girl, then he had another thing coming. She wasn't going to sit there and take his bullshit, if he started up on that, she was going to send him flying out the door with his tail between his legs.

"I do," Kurama continued, unaffected by the fact that she'd interrupted him. "However, I was merely going to say that Yusuke rarely ever called myself, Hiei, or any of the others that we know unless he was alone and knew that he could get away with simply laying on the couch in boredom until we either left, he complained about a movie that ended, or fell asleep." He chuckled a bit afterward, remembering a few times when Yusuke had fallen asleep during a less adventurous movie and muttered in his sleep, lightly swinging his arms at invisible victims, or his memory of Kuwabara.

She allowed her lips to tilt slightly, remembering a few times when she was working that she would come home to find Yusuke sleeping in that exact spot. It wasn't surprising that he'd call his friends while she wasn't home; she almost expected to hear it now, since then he wouldn't have to listen to her bitch about something in front of them. That, and she'd always wondered why his friends would be leaving or were mentioned, but rarely ever seen. It seemed that Yusuke either hadn't wished for her to ever truly meet them, or hung out with people that drove him to sleeping with another woman. "Do you know about…?" she stopped before she could finish her sentence, not knowing quite how to phrase it without accusing him of it.

"About Yusuke's latest adventure?" Kurama asked, his eyes sharpening. When Keiko's head snapped up, her eyes shining in a way that he knew she was expecting him to start into her, he nodded. "Yes, I am quite aware of that. Yusuke may not know it, but he crushed a woman's wish to stay faithful to the man she loved, as well as making her feel worthless in that man's eyes. She will get better over time, her boyfriend is seeing to that, but—"

"I am  _aware_ ," she mocked his choice of words, "of who this boyfriend is and who the woman is, Shuichi, there's no need to continue to talk about them in that manner." Her voice was a little sharp, but she was glad that he wasn't directing the anger that was clear in his voice at her. She allowed a tear to slip from her eye, "I'm also aware that he cheated on me with his friends girlfriend."

Kurama's eyes softened, "I'm very sorry that you learned all of that."

Keiko shook her head, "No, I'd rather know then think about it all the time." Then, slowly, she looked into his eyes, and asked, "Have you seen her since this happened?"

"Yes, I saw her just yesterday," Kurama nodded.

It was then that Yukina returned, a small bag in her hands. She smiled at Kurama, but realized almost instantly what they must be speaking of. That, and hearing Kurama's last sentence, she asked, "How is she, Shuichi?"

"She is holding most of her guilt and anger in, and trying to get better for Hiei," Kurama replied softly. "If you'd like, Yukina, I could ask Hiei if he'd be willing to stop by with her for a short time, or allow you over to see her?"

Yukina thought for a moment, but then shook her head. "I would like to speak with Kagome if she hasn't made any progress within the next mouth, though," she said afterward. "I would like to help her in any way that I can, but at the moment I think that Hiei will be enough for her, as long as he doesn't purposely remind her of  _it_."

"I will tell Hiei," Kurama replied. He turned his head to Keiko once more afterward, and dipped his head, "It was a pleasure seeing you and finally speaking with you in the real sense of the word, Keiko." He nodded at Yukina shortly afterward, "Thank you, Yukina."

Keiko took the money he offered, gave him his change, and watched as he walked out the door once more, the tiny bells tinkling happily as he left. However, she looked down at her hands, wondering just how badly Higurashi Kagome was taking this all. She was angry with Yusuke, really angry in fact, but she wondered how exactly the other woman felt, having obviously tried to make Yusuke see reason, since it was becoming clearer to her that Kagome loved her boyfriend. She might not have seen much of Hiei, she'd rarely heard about him either, but obviously it was more so than Shuichi, Kurama, or at least closer to the time that he'd finally gone through with the act, since she'd easily remembered Yusuke talking about him, but not Shuichi.

Sighing, Keiko wished once more that she could meet this Higurashi Kagome. The other woman would probably think that she was there to hurt her, but she wanted to get her story. She wanted to find out what had started this, what had ended up with Yusuke making that tape, thus leaving proof of his cheating ways. She wanted to know, but she could understand if the other woman simply wanted to stay away from anything that had to do with Yusuke—and until she decided what to do, truly do about their relationship, she was still something that had to do with him.


	11. Chapter 11

It was surprising how easily he was taking this, since she was positive still that he might not have made the right decision when she'd broke down in front of him, spilling her heart out. Now, though, he was being so kind, which was very unlike him unless they were completely alone, and so patient. Those two things pointed to one thing in Kagome's mind—there had to be something wrong with her boyfriend. She had understood the small gestures and the affection when they were alone, but she did not understand why he was holding her hand of all things  _while_  they walked toward the shrine.

It certainly wasn't unwelcome, even in public, but not something she had expected him to suddenly do. Usually he would stay close to her side, sometimes he would wrap his arm around her waist, but he'd never taken her hand as he was doing now. She liked it, she did, but she still wondered what was wrong with him, since there had to be something going on in his head to make him forget that he just did not normally do what he was doing. Even if she liked it, though; even if she didn't really care what had brought this on, she knew that she did not deserve it.

She hated that she couldn't stop herself from being guilty over the whole situation, especially when she had told Hiei that she would. She hated the man who had picked her up that night she had truly believed that the man she loved might have been unfaithful to her at some time, or was going to become so. But, most of all, she hated herself for allowing the women she thought were her friends to manipulate her so easily that she landed herself in this position. Everything had been perfect, she'd been so happy, and then suddenly a few choice words and everything spiraled downward. There was no telling now just how bad the situation could get, how deeply she could dig herself a grave, and when Hiei would realize that she was too much trouble for him to handle.

 _I'll try_ , echoed in her own ears again and again, but she wasn't so sure now. The times that she had said those words seemed so much farther away than they actually had been.  _I'll try_ ; try being the key word—as she thought about it, she wasn't actually trying. The guilt, after her anger had completely ebbed away, began to eat away at her once more. No matter how much she wanted to get better for Hiei, she did not know how long he'd be able to take her crap, so she wasn't sure if there was a point to trying. Sure, she could get better and everything would go back to the way it was—the past behind them—, but there was that possibility that nothing would go right from that moment on.

He turned his head just a bit when she began to slow down, her head dropping a little further until she was staring at the ground. He wondered once more where the woman he had fallen for went, where she had hidden herself, but knew that in time she would reveal herself once more. Just like the night before her passion for life would come back, her happy smiles, and her simple need to care about everything and anything would return. However, as he stared at her, his grip tightened, and he asked, "Kagome?"

"Hiei," she said slowly, "you don't have to do this."

 _This again?_  he wondered. He had been positive that she was beginning to come back to him, but it seemed that she was still gnawing at herself mentally for having allowed Urameshi sway her away from him. He was not quite sure why it had resurfaced this quickly, or at this moment, but he did not like her looking so weak and fragile. She wasn't, she was everything but; yet the picture was set firmly in his mind at the moment and he wanted nothing than to shatter it. "Hn, what I do is of my own free will," he replied.

"You still don't have to do this," she muttered. Lifting her eyes just a bit, she briefly glanced at him, and then sighed. "You don't have to be with me because you feel you have to. No one will put it against you if you never want to see me again."

Frowning, Hiei wondered for a moment if he'd have to spell it out to her. Normally she knew what he was thinking about by his posture, or at least his mood for the moment. Now, it seemed that she was focusing so much on the fact that she'd done something wrong that she could not tell up from down. He gave his own sigh, "I would not be here if I did not wish to be. You should know that well enough."

"I'm not so sure that you do want to be here anymore," Kagome bit the inside of her lip. She loved him so much, but she knew that she couldn't hold onto him if he did not wish to be with her any longer. She wanted to be with him, but she didn't want to bring him any more pain, and she knew that seeing her in pain brought him pain. She wanted to believe in herself once more, to try for him, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to do that, no matter how many times she told him she would.

His eyes narrowed, and he brought his other hand up to clasp her chin between his fingers. Forcing her to look him in the eye, he saw that she looked ready to cry, no doubt because of something that bastard Urameshi put into her head. Gently, he began to caress her jaw with his thumb, and leaned a little closer to her. Then, as he forced down the urge to smirk at her blush, he said, "Trust me, Kagome, if I did not wish to be here, I would have already gone. You should not trouble yourself with these thoughts."

She felt like she could dive into his eyes at that moment they shined with so much intensity, and she wished that she could. Her heart belonged to him, he held it however he wanted to in his hand, but looking so deeply into his eyes she felt like she loved him even more. Without a second thought she leaned a little closer to him, stopping just before she kissed him, and knew that she trusted him more than anything else. She had no reason not to, especially since he had never planned nor did he ever do what she had been driven to believe, before having it crushed with the blind truth. "I'm sorr—"

He roughly pried her lips open, not caring at the moment where they were, driving away the apology that had almost escaped her lips completely. She pressed closer to him, before he allowed his hand to slip away from her chin to the back of her neck, trying to devour as much of her as he possibly could. She did not even try to become dominate, instead submitting to him instantly and allowing him to dive as deeply into her cavern as he wished to. Then, releasing her hand for the moment, he snaked his other arm around her waist, trying to prove to her that he did want to be with her.

The passion he showed, the love that she felt, easily pushed away the thoughts that were currently swarming around her head. For the briefest moment she had wondered why she should allow him to touch her this way, she had allowed another man to touch what should have only belonged to him, but it didn't seem important any longer. Only the fact that he wanted to stay with her, as she had been told as he had taken her home the night she'd told him everything—only that was important, nothing else mattered. She gave into him, allowing him to do, as he wanted; yet taking pleasure from the kiss just knowing that he still wanted her.

Slowly, deliberately, he dragged his lips away from hers, allowing her to follow him as he pulled away before he finally pulled back completely. He held her close still, as he slowly ran his fingers through her hair, watching as her eyes opened in order to stare at him. If he had ever doubted she loved him before, the look in her eyes would have told him everything that he needed to know at that moment. However, he ignored that thought and allowed his forehead to rest on hers, saying, "I want this to work, but you have to want it to."

She nodded, saying, "I d—"

" _Higurashi_ - _san_!"

Hiei tensed at hearing the voice, and ignored how Kagome's hands suddenly gripped his arms as he turned to glare at the male. He took notice that the idiot was still riding that old bicycle, still had that innocent, hopeful smile, and still cast a small glance at his woman when he thought he could get away with it. He'd never liked him, never trusted him and his pitiful gifts, no matter how much he had seemed truly concerned for Kagome's health. He never had because as soon as he'd decided to take her as his girlfriend she'd become his responsibility—the  _only_  one who would take care of her if he had anything to say about it.

Hojo froze at the glare that he received from the man who held Kagome so tightly in his embrace. He was not blind, he had seen the intimate moment between them, and he was quite shocked that Kagome had allowed such a thing to take place out in the open. However, he pulled back the slight amount of bitterness that surely would have shown up in his tone, as he finally said, "I see you're doing well, Higurashi-san."

Kagome blinked, feeling Hiei's arms tighten a bit more around her, pulling her closer to his chest. She nodded, however, wanting to be polite, "Yes, I haven't felt sick in quite some time." As she said that, she knew she wasn't counting the emotional sickness that she had felt just moments before. "However, I am a bit tired, I think that Hiei and I should continue on our way to the shrine."

Hiei liked that idea, as long as that idiot road past them and never returned. He knew he could not get rid of him completely without some help, or at least hurting him to the point that he broke him. Neither was acceptable at the moment, though, it would use up too much time that could have easily been used to help Kagome. However, his anger had sparked when he'd realized that blasted Urameshi was still affecting his girlfriend and the idiot in front of him might be a perfect way to get rid of it.

Hojo's face brightened, "If you want, I could get you something that would help you sleep a little better, Higurashi-san. I'm positive that I could find something that—"

"No," Hiei snarled. He wasn't about to give that man another inch; Kagome was his responsibility. Besides, Akitoki's face had brightened a little too quickly to be nothing more than simply wanting to help her. The man was looking for every possible opportunity to make a move on her and he didn't like that at all. He much preferred the idea of Akitoki's face smeared into the pavement.

Hojo blinked in confusion, before settling his eyes onto the man who'd captured Kagome so thoroughly. Then, softly, he asked, "Surely you would not object to something that would help Higurashi-san, would you, Hi—"

"Jaganshi," Hiei hissed.

"—Jaganshi-san?" Hojo finished. "It would only be in Higurashi-san's best interest at heart, since I would not wish for her to not reach the deepest—"

"The answer is still 'no'," Hiei replied. "She does not need your methods when she has  _mine_."

"Yours?" Hojo asked curiously.

"Obviously you do not see what she needs nor what she enjoys," Hiei snapped at him, growing more frustrated that the idiot would not simply leave. "She does not wish for, nor does she need some type of herb to help her sleep, she is perfectly fine with my arms for comfort. It has worked many times before you suggested this ridiculous idea and it will work many times more."

"Oh," Hojo said. "I see." He allowed a faint blush to cross his cheeks, hoping that Kagome would take notice of it, since then he would not simply be brushed aside. Besides, he rarely got to even glance at her anymore with that new boyfriend of hers—Inuyasha had only ever snorted in his face, and told him to leave; Bankotsu had rolled his eyes before saying his help wasn't needed. Of course, Bankotsu didn't count as a boyfriend, but both of them had been deterred from his advances toward her because of something Kagome said at one of these moments. "I'm very sorry for not noticing before, please forgive me, Jaganshi-san."

"Hn," Hiei began, "my forgiveness will be given once you have left my sight,  _Akitoki_."

Feeling how tightly Hiei was now holding her, Kagome wondered what it was about Hojo that he did not like. However, she decided that if she was going to trust him then she should trust him on this decision to get Hojo out of their sight, instead of telling Hiei that Hojo was simply a good friend trying to help. So, she faked a yawn, and snuggled closer to her boyfriend. Then, with as much sleepiness as she could fake, she said, "We really shouldn't keep you, H—Akitoki-san. After all, Sango is expecting us at the shrine and we still have to survive the steps without me falling asleep."

Hojo stiffened a bit when Kagome acknowledged him by his surname, instead of his first as she normally did. However, he nodded stiffly, saying, "I won't keep you then. I must be on my way anyhow, my mother is expecting me to pick up some groceries for her while I'm visiting." Placing his foot back onto the pedal of his bicycle, he dipped his head down, saying, "I hope to see you again soon, Higurashi-san."

Watching as the idiot finally got the hint and left, Hiei relaxed his hold on Kagome, allowing her to step back from him. However, once the bicycle Akitoki road was completely out of sight, he turned his attention back to the woman staring at him in concern. No doubt she wondered why he'd become so hostile to someone that had always treated her with respect and cared so much about her health. That man, however, was treading on dangerous ground already, and it wouldn't take much for him to lose his footing and fall. "Hn."

Kagome smiled a little, really smiled, as she watched Hiei cross his arms over his chest. "You really don't like him, do you?" she asked.

"That man treads on dangerous ground by bringing you  _gifts_  to flirt with you," Hiei muttered darkly. "The others might tolerate it, but I will not. Especially not at this moment in time."

Kagome stiffened at the words, knowing what they meant. When she lowered her head, she was surprised when Hiei's fingers once more found themselves underneath her chin to lift her face, though. She had not expected for him to react so quickly to her sudden change in mood, but it seemed that he noticed things much quicker than she did these days. Besides, she wasn't going to complain, she rather liked the warmth that came off his hand as it gently held her captive.

"I meant I will not let you out of my sight with another male that I do not trust," Hiei told her quickly. "Not that I expect for you to do  _that_  again. I simply don't trust others with what I consider my own." He didn't dare tell her that she belonged to him, because then he would get the yelling in his ear about how she wasn't an object speech again. Though his words did indicate that he believed she belonged to him, at least with his choice of wording it gave her a chance to say otherwise. He doubted she would, however, even as he thought about it, since her heart belonged to him, just as his belonged to her.

She nodded, allowing herself to relax. She should have known that, but her mind was quick to think that he was going to throw her to the curb. She shouldn't think that way, she should trust him as she did before, yet she had the nagging feeling that what she had done was too great to be fixed in some way. However, when she stared into his eyes once more, noticing that the fire within them was strengthening the longer she stared, she knew that she should not even think about thinking that way. He truly did want it to work between them, and she wanted it to work, so why did she have to torture herself with the possibility that it might not?

Once again she pushed down the guilt, telling herself that her love for him was stronger than what happened between her and Urameshi Yusuke. They would work around that problem, and she would never again doubt him or his loyalty—nor would she ever allow herself to slip into a bed that belonged to another man. She was determined for that to happen, she was determined to get better in order to make it work between them, because she wanted it to. He wanted it to, so it should be that way; and, damn it, she was tired of having something she wanted slip through her fingers.

"What were you going to say?"

Kagome blinked, noticing that there was a small amount of curiosity hidden in Hiei's eyes as he asked. For a moment she wondered what he was talking about, until she came up blank. She honestly did not understand what he meant, she knew she probably should, but she couldn't think of it at the moment. He was giving her so much all at once. Not overwhelmingly so, but enough that it seemed a bit strange for him to do. Especially now, since she doubted he'd spoken this much within the last few years. "I… I don't," she saw the flames in his eyes die, "understand what you're talking about, Hiei."

Sighing, Hiei guessed he should have expected that. "I wish to make this work between us, Kagome," he said once more, annoyed with himself for saying it so many times in the first place, "do you?"

She didn't hesitate, saying, "Yes, I want this to work, or least for us to get past this and move on together."

He brushed the back of his hand over her cheek, the flames returning to his crimson eyes. After he'd tucked a stray strand of hair back behind her ear once more, he reached down and grabbed her hand. He was not unaccustomed to holding another's hand, he was human after all, but he normally did not do this in public, usually wishing to show in a more drastic way that Kagome was not available. Of course, that could easily be shown in other ways, but he liked holding her close to his side. At the moment, however, he needed to do some errands that Sesshoumaru needed him to do, thus the near urgency to get her to the shrine where there would be others to watch over her—people he trusted.

They moved up the stairs silently once they reached them, Kagome pressing herself a little closer to Hiei by wrapping her arms around his left, instead of merely holding his hand. Her head was resting on his shoulder by the time they reached the top, the fact that she was still a bit tired catching up with her. However, she lifted her head just a bit when she noticed that there were three people standing outside in the courtyard, very close to the Goshinbuko. For a moment she wondered if they were there to see the grounds, until they got closer, and suddenly a squeal was heard.

"Oh, look! Kagome and her little cutie are here!" Jakotsu hollered, waving over toward them.

Hiei twitched at the nickname that the other man insisted on giving him. He felt the need to thrust something very sharp into Jakotsu's chest, whether it was a knife or a sword, to shut him up. He liked the fact that the man was protective of Kagome, though he often called her his own during those times, and that he wasn't going to try and steal her away. However, he did not enjoy Jakotsu's constant need to call him something that had to do with his looks, among other things, instead of his name. Not that he'd wanted Jakotsu to know his name in the first place, but Kagome had insisted at the time.

"Hiei," Bankotsu greeted.

"Bankotsu," Hiei replied in the same manner.

Sango smiled at them, before finally coming to stand by Kagome's side. After she greeted them, however, her face turned a bit dark, and she asked, "Kagome, don't you think it reasonable that I ask Bankotsu to leave if he called me a bitch?"

"Um," Kagome blinked, glancing up at Bankotsu, "I  _guess_  so."

"I told you she'd agree with me," Sango said, wrapping an arm around Kagome's shoulders. "I am her sister, after all."

"But," Bankotsu began to argue.

"Ohhh," Jakotsu giggled, "Sango's got you there, big brother! She did tell you that Kagome would agree that it would be  _reasonable_  if you'd called her such a thing. It's no surprise now why you're always having such woman problems; it's so clear to me that you're doing this type of stuff all the time."

"No I'm not," Bankotsu defended himself. "I rarely ever call her names and usually whenever I do it's in the heat of the moment!"

Hiei narrowed his eyes at Bankotsu's choice of words, noticing that Kagome had turned a light shade of pink, but decided to ignore it for now. Catching their attention, he stated, "I must do a few things for Sesshoumaru today. I hope that you'll be able to watch over Kagome until I return?"

"Course we'll be able to watch over her," Bankotsu replied. "What do you take us for, morons?"

"You really shouldn't have asked him that," Sango sighed. "I mean seriously, how much of a  _moron_  can you become in five minutes." Rubbing at her temples, she finally continued, "One of these days I'm going to hide that baseball bat from you, Bankotsu. At least then you won't be able to hit yourself over the head with it."

"You're not touching Banryuu!" Bankotsu snapped. However, not a moment later, he yelled, "Hey, wait a minute! That's not cool, Sango, I've never hit myself over the head with my lucky bat, nor am I ever going to. Though, I know a few people that I'd like to hit with it."

"I can think of a few, too," Sango replied. "One of them is standing in front of me."

"Oh, Sango," Kagome sighed. She almost laughed, though, and was happy for the distraction. These three were always able to make her laugh—not as much as all of the brothers' and Sango together; but laugh nonetheless. That, and they made her forget her problems. Like when she'd lost Buyo III, they'd been the ones to cheer her up by constantly bickering back and forth while Jakotsu pulled her into a conversation that had nothing to do with what was happening in front of them.

"Don't worry about a thing, sugar," Jakotsu said. "We'll take good care of Kagome while you're away and we'll get her all ready for when you come back to do the nasty."

"Jakotsu!" Kagome cried out, not believing that had just come out of the homosexual man's mouth. Sure, he was always talking about that kind of stuff most of the time, but it usually never got as far as dragging her into it.

Jakotsu shot her a small glance, a slight roll of his eyes indicating that he did not understand her outburst as his gaze back to rest completely on her. "I was under the impression that your little cutie pulled you into the world of sexuality, Kagome." He blinked, and then gasped; "Don't tell me that you were a virgin until that fatal day that that cute Urameshi got his hands onto you? That is simply not acceptable as a way for a girl to have her first time. You should have had a soft bed, some candles, and a very handsome man who loved you; not, not that, though admittedly cute man—"

Bankotsu hit his brother on the head again when he tried to start up once more. "Jakotsu, shut up," he growled, noticing the way that Hiei had clenched his fist. Obviously the man was torn between doing what his boss told him to do, and staying to defend the fact that he had been Kagome's first. He knew; he'd accidentally listened in when Kagome told Sango about her first time while searching for something to eat in the kitchen and then retreating back to Sango's bedroom. Or, at least he'd deny that it was anything other but an accident.

"You're so mean, Bankotsu," Jakotsu sniffled. "I would tell Kagome to hit you, but she looks ready to fall off her feet at this moment. Poor dear." He moved forward, completely forgetting what he'd been talking about a few moments before, and took Kagome's hands. "We should get you to bed right away, that way you'll be fully rested for once your cutie comes back!"

That sounded nice, so Kagome nodded, but did not let herself be dragged away before giving Hiei a small wave of her hand. Then, she let Jakotsu drag her to the house and inside, where she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt her bed was waiting for her. Her nice, soft, comfortable bed—of course, the bed she shared with Hiei at his place was really nice too, but her bed was  _her_  bed, therefore making it special in its own right. Not only that, but it had been with her for years and with the new mattress she'd gotten it was even better.

"I will return later," Hiei stated, before turning away. He knew that though they were a bunch of loons they would do everything in their power to make Kagome comfortable when she wasn't her normal self. He knew that she would be all right without him for a while, because they would be able to make her forget how long he had left her for. At this moment, he wanted nothing to make her think that he wasn't going to come back for her, because he would. Nothing would stop him from returning.

"I told you he wasn't going to simply dump her," Bankotsu muttered. He watched as Hiei disappeared down the stairs and wondered for a moment if they'd walked from his place. However, it was not his problem if Hiei wanted to walk everywhere instead of taking the perfectly functional vehicle he had. Plus, that didn't really matter to him as much as making sure that Kagome was taken care of, especially after that damn Urameshi messed with her head, now that she was back on the shrine.

Sango scowled, before hissing, "And I told you that I didn't think he was going to. Heck, the night that he brought her home I told her that he wasn't going to be an idiot like Inuyasha and leave her. I also told her that Hiei is a good man, no matter what anyone else thinks of him, so you can shut your mouth before you spew out anymore nonsense today."

Her lip twitched upward, and she turned completely to her boyfriend, before crossing her arms. "Besides, you still have to leave," she said at last, noticing that his attention was drawn to her chest. She'd expected for him to look, which was why she'd crossed her arms, in order to make it quite obvious. He was such an idiot at times; she doubted that he'd even realize what she was talking about.

"What?" Bankotsu asked softly, blinking a few times.

Smirking, since she was right, Sango brought a finger up as a mother would when scolding their child. "I told you that if Kagome agreed that it was reasonable for me to kick you off the shrine grounds for calling me names that I would do it. Since I was appointed the groundskeeper until Kagome is well, I want you to leave."

"W-wait," Bankotsu snapped out of his breast-induced trance, "I gotta stay here to help with Kagome."

"I'm perfectly capable of handling Kagome myself, thank you very much," Sango continued. "Plus, I'm her sister, while you're her sister's boyfriend. I will be much more help to her than you will be, so you can hurry home my dear. Maybe in a couple days I'll change my mind about making you leave and forcing you to stay off the grounds." She turned and walked away from him, smirking as she did so.

"You can't do this!" Bankotsu yelled.

"I can," Sango called back. "But since I like you, I won't call the police in order to make you leave. However, I do expect you gone within the next ten minutes, and for you to start thinking about why you shouldn't call me a bitch."

Watching her walk into the house, Bankotsu kicked a small pebble underneath his foot. His day had been shot to hell. However, as he turned away toward the stairs, he began to mumble to himself. Sure, he shouldn't have called Sango that, and he shouldn't have told her that he knew all that stuff and she didn't need to remind him, but this was harsh. So harsh, in his opinion, that he muttered one final word as he touched the top stair, before leaving the grounds completely.

"Bitch."


	12. Chapter 12

A smirk formed onto his lips as his mind once more went back to his encounter with Keiko. She had not remembered him completely—though she had seemed to look as if she had was beginning to a few times. He had doubted she would as soon as he decided to walk into the bakery, determined to speak with her, but it had turned out better than he had hoped. She might not remember him, but she had seemed to be comfortable in his presence. Besides, in a small way her not remembering anything about him could work to his advantage, since he could start anew, giving her an even brighter image than he was sure he showed the first time.

Kurama was very pleased, as well, with the fact that she was taking the situation much better than he had thought. It meant that he could subtly hint toward it when he was spending time with her, slowly planting the seeds as he wished them to be, without being yelled at or hit for being insensitive. Personally, he had no thoughts of comforting a crying woman while he was trying to woo her gently, taking her heart inch by inch out of Urameshi Yusuke's grasp. No, he wished to play a beautiful, yet subtle, game of seduction that would eventually give him what he wanted from the woman that captivated him.

Of course, he knew that his conscience would come into play sooner or later. He was, after all, trying to take another man's wife, though in truth he truly did not think Yusuke deserved such a fine woman at his side. The man obviously did not think. However, that did not mean that he was not human and would not eventually think of the consequences that might come from playing such a game.

There was the possibility that Keiko, in the end, would choose Yusuke again. His world would not end, he had never truly had her in the first place, but he was sure that the ache that had formed in his chest before would return. She might never see him as a friend again, which was why his game needed to be very subtle until she asked for something more, or decided once and for all that Yusuke was not for her. There was also the chance that Yusuke might, just  _might_ , actually get over his stubbornness, see what he was throwing away, and come crawling back to the wife he so carelessly tossed aside. He was not worried about Yusuke hurting him badly, but he had no intentions of ending up in a jail cell simply because Yusuke could not keep his temper at a low.

He knew that he was playing a dangerous game, treading onto ground that many would not try to, but he was already imagining the prize at the end—if he won, that was. A beautiful treasure; something that he simply would not pass up a second time, and slightly regretted handing over to his friend the first time. That prize, in his opinion, would be a glorious one, and he simply could not pass up the opportunity a second time, not after hearing what Yusuke had done. It was a prize; a treasure; a woman that he was willing to try to claim, no matter how dangerous things became, because he had a strong feeling that he  _would_  win.

However, he paused for a short moment when he realized that he had referred to Yusuke as his friend. Yes, if Yusuke saw the error of his ways and  _never_  did such a thing again, he might still allow himself to call him friend, but there were other things to consider. He had known Hiei for far longer, and he knew as soon as Hiei had stormed into his house and told—though, it was actually  _yelled_ —him of the crime Yusuke had committed that Hiei had terminated his friendship with the man. Yusuke was technically his friend still, though he had harmed Keiko emotionally, but at this moment he knew he should not consider Yusuke such, unless he wished to once more step aside for his  _friend_. No, Yusuke was competition at the moment, his enemy, and his eyes shined at having such an opponent.

It would make the chase all the more thrilling; to know that he was competing against the man who held the heart he wanted so badly. Yes, he knew that he could sway Keiko's affections, win her heart for himself, but that did not mean it would be so easily won. Her love for Yusuke, the fact that she had given her heart to the man who ended up cheating on her, would make the chase more challenging. Yusuke, even if he did not know it, was making the game he played so much fun, even if it was only beginning.

But, even if this was only the beginning; in the end he was positive he would sweep Keiko off her feet.

Turning his thoughts away from the end that might be so near, he wondered how Keiko had found out so much information on her own already. It was obvious from her words that she knew that Yusuke had cheated on her with Kagome, thus pulling her away from her faithfulness to Hiei. He wondered, however, if she knew her name, and who it was that told her the information in the first place. He doubted it was Yukina, since it had not been that long ago since it had all started and Yukina normally did not listen to rumors—which he was sure were already roaming around, no matter how secretive they tried to be. The only reason he could even think Yukina would have been able to tell her anything was if she had known Kagome's name, but where had she gotten it from?

Frowning, he wondered if there was something more that had informed Keiko of Yusuke's cheating ways. It was obvious that she had known about them, or she would not have gone to stay with Yukina and work in her shop with her, instead choosing to stay with her husband and daughter. He had planned to tell her, gently if he had to, but finding out that she knew could work to his advantage. However, it was still a mystery as to how she knew anything, since she had seemed to have a complete grasp on the entire situation.

There were a few things that he could think of at the moment that could have lead to her finding out, one of which was Hiei had already gotten his hands onto Yusuke and Yusuke had come home beaten. He was sure that Keiko would insist that Yusuke tell her how it had happened and then everything had most likely spiraled downward from there, Yusuke finally blurting out that he had slept with a woman named Kagome, whose boyfriend beat him up. However, Yusuke did not seem that stupid, no matter how much of what he said did not process in his brain first. He doubted that Yusuke had been the one to tell her, though it could explain a few things.

Another possibility was that one of Keiko's friends had seen Yusuke entering the place he had taken Kagome to and told her. She would have confronted Yusuke on the fact that he had entered a place with a woman her friend had not known, and apparently neither did she. Yusuke would have probably defended himself before finally yelling that he had fucked her, and asking if Keiko was happy afterward. Yukina, again, could have been able to tell her that she knew a woman named Kagome, who she was dating, but she would not have been able to confirm anything without a last name or description.

It was that key fact that blew both possibilities out of the water, since he doubted Yusuke would have told Keiko Kagome's full name. He knew him, and knew that he would not have used so many words when he was angry. And, he seriously doubted that Yusuke had told her anything while in the right state of mind or without anger riding beneath its wings. Yusuke was an idiot sometimes, but he was not a fool to ruin his own life purposely.

So, what was it that had ended with Keiko knowing so much? Kurama narrowed his eyes.  _What_  was he missing?

* * *

He groaned, popping another pill into his mouth. After washing it down with some water, he hoped that the eight hundred milligrams he had taken would reduce some of the pain he was filling. His jaw had swollen further, and his leg felt like electricity was shooting through it every time he tried to place his weight upon it. He wondered for a brief moment if those freaks had broken his leg—he was pretty certain Hiei had broken his jaw, and he had broken his hand smashing the bathroom mirror. Damn it, his cuts were beginning to heal over, but this was just fucking great in his opinion— _not_.

 

He was certain that while he was sitting around hoping that his wounds would heal faster that something was happening. Something that he didn't want to happen; something very, very bad, and he was certain that either Hiei, Kurama, or Keiko was in the center of it all. Hiei because the man was probably thinking of every possible way under the sun to beat the shit out of him; Kurama because he was probably devising some cunning plan in order to win Keiko's heart; and Keiko because she was probably thinking about how to get even with him. All of the options were not something that he wanted to think about, but he knew that the world outside his home was turning, moving without him as he recovered.

A slight groan escaped his lips as he pressed a button on the remote, changing the channel once more on the TV. He ended up with some martial arts movie, and at the moment he really did not care for it. He clicked the button once more, watching as the television screen flickered once more and an anime show popped onto the screen. His lips turned slightly downward, remembering when Rini would jump up and down begging him to watch some of her favorites with her. He missed that; he wanted that back.

Reaching up and moving his swollen jaw between his fingers, Yusuke sighed. His wounds weren't going to heal as fast as he wished they would—he also glanced at the screen and watched an anime character heal her friend with a simple touch of her hand, which made him even angrier about it. However, his anger was not well placed, he knew that, which was why he let it go not soon afterward, giving another sigh. There was no reason to get angry at something that would not even response, or understand, or care—especially when that thing was not living.

Damn it, though, looking at the anime character making such a fuss over her friend's health made him wish that he hadn't pushed Keiko away. Then at least she would be at his side demanding who had hurt him and treating his wounds. She would make his day brighter, and his nights warmer, instead of the dull boredom and loneliness that was already beginning to leak into the house. His daughter would also fuss over him, crying about how she didn't like to see him hurt, and wanting to help her mother in the process of healing him. And, if he hadn't pushed her away—or at least seen that stupid camcorder—he would have his family, his love, and be happy, instead of whining inside of his head for his wife to return to him.

He loathed Higurashi Kagome at the moment. It was that stupid bitch's stunning beauty that had gotten him into this mess, since he probably wouldn't have approach her if she were ugly. Not to mention her temper, since he had liked the idea of being able to get a rise out of her before dominating her. Now, he was beginning to wonder if it was her stupid face that had made him think he needed more excitement in his life, since he had done just fine for five years. If it was, then this was all her fault.

In fact, it was her fault. She might act innocent, but he could bet that deep down she was delighting in the fact that Hiei was such a protective bastard and he found her first. She was probably laughing at him for the fact that Hiei had thrown that punch at him, and probably even more so now if she had been told that pretty boy and cross-dresser and gotten ahold of him. She was a she-devil in disguise; that was what she was. Luring him in with a glance and then ruining his life.

His anger toward her nearly died instantly. He knew that by screwing up his life—which probably hadn't been her intention—would have screwed up hers, no matter how angry she had been with Hiei at the time. He knew that she was actually a really nice girl, since he had watched her from the corner of his eye whenever he visited Hiei, and he knew that she wasn't a she-devil in disguise. But, damn it, it was hard not to try and place the blame on her shoulders, since it  _was_  her condition that had caused Hiei to punched him and probably for those freaks to attack him, too. She seriously needed to stop attracting such weird ass people to herself.

Cursing under his breath, wishing he hadn't thought of it in the first place, he wondered what Keiko was doing at the moment. She was probably sitting by a window wondering what he was doing. He was certain that she was trying everything in her power in order to stay away from him, though he had no doubt she would do it for months. However, once more he wished that she would suddenly ring the doorbell and then come inside, see him, and rush to his side, blurting out questions as she apologized for walking out on him.

Damn it, he wanted to hear her say that she wanted to make their relationship work. Yes, he had done some pretty dumb shit in his life, and it was true that he had screwed up a few times with her, but she had  _never_  done this to him. He was positive that in her mind this had been the last straw, but he wanted to hear her at least yell at him. He missed her so much, and hated himself for trying to find a little excitement to keep their relationship going, since he shouldn't have had to need it in the first place—he understand that now. Plus, if she came to him that meant that he wouldn't need to try and hurt himself even more by going to her, which saved him the trouble.

Leaning his head back further, Yusuke allowed his eyes to close. He knew that, as he touched his leg once more, he might have to go to the hospital if the pain did not recede within the next few days. Perhaps his injury would help Keiko realize just how much he needed her, since he would have no one else to call once he was admitted. Kurama would most likely tell him that it was his own fault and hang up. Hiei would most likely tell him that if he ever called him again he would hunt him down no matter where he went and kill him. All his other friends; well, he didn't like them so much, or they were simply not the type to give a damn.

But, then again, he was sure that Keiko would tell him that if he wanted to talk to her, never letting him explain, that he would need to come to her before hanging up. However, hearing her voice might just help him in his recovery, since he was positive that nothing else would at the moment. He was already beginning to notice the dullness of life without her, and he felt the loneliness stab deep into his heart each time he thought about it. Even worse, he felt his heart break a little more when he wondered if she would ever forgive him, or at least allow him to explain why he had done it.

* * *

With a small movement of his hand his cell phone snapped closed, and he began to mutter to himself. Seriously, he did not understand why the hell the bitch needed him so much, when she had been talking about needing her space just the other day when he had tried to convince her to let him sleep with her. Still, he moved off the bed, and began to pull on his pants, knowing that his girl was watching him with a raised eyebrow, or tapping fingers. Hell, it wasn't his fault that the bitch had to call at the wrong moment—though, she didn't exactly know it was the wrong moment, he wasn't supposed to be between the sheets with another woman. But, damn it, he had been so close.

 

"I'm going to guess that that was Kagura on the phone?"

Turning his head, while button his jeans, he gave a nod. "Fucking bitch wants me to meet her at some café in twenty minutes," he replied.

"And," Kikyo asked annoyed, "why didn't you tell her 'no'?"

"Because," Inuyasha sighed, "I'm s'pposed to have dumped you, remember? Look, Kikyo, I'm sorry that I have to leave, I'll make it up to you later." He managed to pull his shirt on, opening up the three buttons to show off a bit of his chest while he stared at his scowling girlfriend. Obviously she wasn't very happy about the fact that she would have to do the rest of the act by herself to get off, but he telling Kagura he couldn't come would have made her suspicious. The damn bitch was too suspicious in the first place; he didn't need any more pressure slamming down on him because of this.

"Fine," Kikyo smiled a bit. "But, I probably won't be here if you managed to get away from Kagura and come back later. I'm planning on meeting a few of my friends for a quick drink. And, before you ask, it'll only be Ayako, Emiko, Hitomi, Miwa, and myself. We're not quite sure where we're going yet, but I doubt that it will matter, since we will most likely go to Emiko's to spend the rest of the night."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. He didn't like Emiko, because the fucking bitch had lied to him at least twice in the past year. However, if the wench picked up the phone he would ask to speak with Hitomi, because she was the least likely to lie to him from what he knew. So, he nodded, and said, "Alright, if I can get away from her for more than five seconds I'll call."

Kikyo nodded, "Of course. Feel free, I'm sure that Emiko won't mind."

Giving another nod, Inuyasha leaned over and kissed Kikyo lightly on the forehead. It was a promise to finish what he had started, no matter how un-sexual it seemed. She understood and lightly trailed her fingers through his hair before he turned to go. "I'll see ya later," Inuyasha smirked, and then left.

Kikyo allowed a small smirk to tilt on her lips. She knew her Inuyasha far too well, since she had a feeling he would wish to speak with Miwa or Hitomi when he called later—if he was able, that was. Sometimes she wondered why she wished to keep him, when he could be so dense at times, but she loved to wrap him around her finger again and again. After all, he did not need to know that Miwa and Hitomi were the two that were the most likely to lie for her, telling him that she was sleeping or passed out and would tell her in the morning he called. After all, her friends' loved to play the type of game she played, and if she called them all, she was positive that they would play along while she got a better catch.

However, her lips tilted downward slightly when she remembered the last time she had gone out. She had not only seen Onigumo—the bastard—, but she had hit on Kouga. She doubted that he remembered her from the last time she had seen him, but as soon as she had heard his name she had remembered him. He had remembered her as Inuyasha's girlfriend, but obviously he knew nothing else. Still, the business party that Inuyasha had to go to would be quite thrilling, since she would need to either come up with a story to tell Kouga if she got him alone, or avoid him at all costs. And, she was hoping that she would get to jump into a role for the second option.

* * *

His eyes turned toward the sky once more, before he glanced down at the watch on his wrist. It was beginning to get late, and he could not help but wonder how Kagome had faired without him for the day. He doubted that she had completely broken down, not with the fools and her sister there, but he was curious. After all, he knew that she was not well and she was constantly wondering if he was going to walk away from her. He needed to drive those thoughts from her head, but he was beginning to wonder if his method thus far was not the right one, since she seemed to think something was wrong with him.

 

He wasn't going to try and fool himself. He knew that he wasn't the best type of person to try and help her through this time, but damn it, he wasn't about to just let her go. He was not used to having to try and comfort anyone, not even himself, so he was beginning to wonder how he had made it this far. Sure, she seemed to like the fact that he was paying her more attention, physically at least, but she seemed to think ill of his motives. Her constant mentioning that he did not need to continue seeing her made him wonder what he was doing to make her think that, and thought that perhaps he should see Kurama once more.

He sighed. He hated seeing her so weak, but he knew that the woman he loved and adored was just hiding somewhere underneath the surface. He had seen her spark to the surface when she had heard him mention Urameshi's wife. That, and he had seen the devotion she had given him return completely to her when he had confronted Akitoki—he still smirked slightly when remembering the face Akitoki made when Kagome addressed him by his surname. He knew that eventually she would get better, he hoped beyond hope that she would, but he still had a sinking suspicion that he wasn't helping—at least not as much as he wanted to.

Yes, a visit to Kurama was definitely in order, even if it had not been that long since he had last seen him.

His pace quickened just a bit, however, after he glanced at his watch once more. Hiei scowled slightly when he realized how long it had taken him to run Sesshoumaru's errand, when he could have been spending his time with Kagome. It was true that he had to work to make money, but at the moment he would have rather been trying to help Kagome break through her current depression. Since he was now done with his task, nothing would stop him from returning to the woman that held his heart. She needed him, even if she thought that she was nothing more than trash, and he needed her.

Turning the corner, Hiei stopped when he heard a loud yowl, only to realize that he had stepped onto the tail of a small white and black kitten. The feline hissed at him, before scurrying away to try and make itself as small as possible against a building. He scowled at the animal, and began to walk once more. However, his eyes narrowed a bit when he remembered something, and turned to look back at the small animal. It was obvious that it was either a stray or someone had let it out of there home, to which it would most likely have some type of identification.

Moving back to the small animal, he watched as it scrunched up its back and hissed at him again. It did not seem to feral, but merely angry with him for having stepped on its tail. Quickly, he grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck, and lifted it up to his eye level. It glared at him with its blue eyes, its black tipped tail swinging back and forth in aggravation, though it made no move to release itself from his hold, going limp between his fingers. Turning the kitten to the left and then the right, Hiei determined that the animal did not have an owner—though there was a possibility it might even without a collar.

Besides, if it did have an owner then they were foolish for having let the animal out without identification in the first place. It was quite thin anyway, so he was sure that it had not been fed for quite some time without catching its own meal, which made him believe more that the animal did not have someone to take care of it. Finally, feeling he was correct in his assumption, he stood from his crouched position, and kept a tight hold on the kitten's neck, determined that it would not get away or scratch the hell out of him.

No one seemed to care as they passed him that he had even paid the slightest attention to the creature, as he had suspected in the first place. So, he lifted his other arm and placed the animal on it, feeling its tiny claws embed themselves into his arm, as he let go of its neck but kept a firm hold on its back to keep it from escaping. He had remembered the pictures of Kagome with her fat cat, the original Buyo, which hung in the hallway of the shrine. He had remembered hearing Kagome laugh whenever Sango mentioned something about one of her cats, and decided that this animal would be a good friend to her if it decided to stay on the shrine grounds.

Beginning to walk once more, feeling a little out of place with the small animal in his arms, he turned his arm slightly in order to glance again at his watch. He nearly faltered in step when he noticed how long it had taken him to decide whether or not to take this stupid animal to his girlfriend. He hoped that she appreciated it, because the stupid animal had taken away nearly fifteen minutes of his time, which was about how long it would take him to get to the shrine in the first place.

It was times like these that he wished he had driven instead of walked.

* * *

"Would you mind if I asked the name of such a beautiful woman?"

 

She smiled, nearly giddy for having caught the eye of such a fine looking man. Her game was going to be very, very interesting if he decided that he wanted to have a piece of her. Of course, she would have to make sure that he kept coming back, since he seemed like the type to jump from one woman to the next within a couple of days. "I would not mind at all," she nearly giggled in anticipation. "My name is Kikyo. Sasaki Kikyo."

He smirked, his beautiful eyes glimmering dangerously. "A beautiful name for a beautiful maiden," he replied, taking her hand in his. He placed a small kiss on the back, while ignoring the giggles that came from women that wished to be in the place of the woman at his side.

Kikyo's own eyes twinkled. This man, at first, had seemed so much like her dense boyfriend. So much, except for the fact that he was much taller and had held himself in such a way that he could not possibly be related to Inuyasha—though, truly it had been hard to tell from the resemblance. Truly, if he wished to, though, he could pass as Inuyasha's brother, even if she knew no one would truly ever want to try. He was simply beautiful, however, much like Sesshoumaru had seemed before she had gotten to know him. A dangerous man.

"Is there something you like?" he asked, his face suddenly quite close to hers. He let out a small puff of air against her neck and listened to her sharp intake. She was quite responsive, he liked that—who knew, she might very well be the right woman to stand by his side, though he doubted it. He was a man of many tastes; he doubted that one woman would ever be able to hold his interest for more than a few weeks.

"Oh, yes," Kikyo replied. It was almost a shame that she liked playing around behind Inuyasha's back, or she would have simply dropped him once she set sights on this wonderful specimen. Inuyasha would have whined and most likely wished to fight with this beautiful  _beast_ , but she doubted that he would be able to win from the way this man was built. A dangerous beauty that she was determined, at that very moment, would slip between her sheets more than once in order to participate in her game, even if he did not know it.

"Good," he whispered, pulling back.

"Tell me," Kikyo smiled, "what is your name, beautiful stranger?"

He smirked, showing off his white teeth, as he straightened himself. His posture was that of arrogance and authority, demanding that all who hear him bow to his glory. Of course, he would never give away his entire secret to one woman, but that did not mean that he would not at least give away his name. "My name?" he asked.

"Yes," Kikyo nodded.

"My name is Youko."


	13. Chapter 13

Sango noticed the instant that Hiei returned, since Jakotsu came bounding down the stairs declaring that, "Kagome's sweetheart was home!" in his extremely enthusiastic voice. He also said something about him bringing a present, but she had not paid much attention to him after that, since she had realized she was burning dinner—again, which was why she made Kagome cook. Really, she wondered when she was going to get a break, since her food never turned out  _that_  bad, but something always distracted her to the point that it burnt. As she turned off the stove, she supposed that at least  _this_  time she didn't have to blame in on Bankotsu.

Though, she could blame dinner being later than usual on that ass.

Having had Jakotsu set the table after he had put Kagome to bed, she knew that she would not need to worry with that, but turned to set her frying pan into its rightful place. At least with that out of the way, and the food covered, she would only need to see if Hiei was staying, and wake Kagome up. Though, she was concerned for a moment if Kagome might need more sleep, she decided that she needed to eat instead of allowing herself to starve. So, after making sure that mostly everything was in order, she turned to move up the stairs in order to reach the second floor.

"Ohh, it's so cute!"

For a moment she turned toward the door, but then shook her head and continued her way up the stairs. Jakotsu thought was lot of things were cute, but most of them she was not interested in knowing about. Besides, if it was something inappropriate she doubted that Hiei would tolerate it for long, and Jakotsu would leave him alone as soon as he realized that Hiei was going to pulverize him. And, though Jakotsu might make a few comments about him, he knew his boundaries when it came to Kagome's boyfriend.

A small smirk tilted onto her lips, for she rather enjoyed most of the things that came out of Jakotsu's mouth. Especially whenever he told her about things that Bankotsu did, since he liked to think that he could do everything by himself without her. She had busted him so many times with Jakotsu's help it was pitiful, but he would never know where her information came from, since that would ruin all her fun. Besides she still loved his stubborn butt, no matter how much he talked shit or tried to take care of serious problems on his own.

Traveling up the stairs and easily reaching the second floor, Sango moved down the hallway in order to reach Kagome's room. She could hear Kagome turn over, and knew from the sound that her sister was likely not asleep. A small frown tugged at her lips, since she remembered when Kagome had stayed up for three days after their mother had died, before she had finally collapsed. So, she knew that Kagome was probably not sleeping because Hiei had left and she was worried that another man would end up like Inuyasha. She hoped beyond hope that Kagome would see in time that Hiei and Inuyasha were completely different people, and Hiei wasn't going to do what Inuyasha did.

Finally turning the knob, she stepped inside as the door opened and watched as Kagome buried herself deeper into her covers, obviously trying to make it seem like she was in the land of dreams. However, as she rolled her eyes, she softly closed the door behind her and stopped, allowing herself to watch as Kagome pulled the covers down in order to inspect the door. "You've never been very good at this game, Kagome," she said in slight amusement.

"Sango," Kagome blushed, "I was trying to sleep, honest."

Sango shook her head. "I know you, Kagome, and I also know that you weren't trying to sleep at all. However, I'm not going to  _bitch_  about it, since I know why you can't sleep—don't try to tell me that I don't—and the solution to your problems has arrived." She noticed that Kagome was staring at her a little oddly, and blamed Bankotsu for making her sound a bit like him when it came to words. "What?"

"Nothing," Kagome sighed.

"And dinner's done, and you need to come eat it," Sango continued. "I'm sure that your stay with Hiei was very pleasant, but you need to eat sooner or later, Kagome, you can't just lay in bed with him all day."

"Sango!" Kagome yelled, grabbing the nearest object in order to throw at her stepsister. The object turned out to only be her nice fluffy pillow, and Sango managed to catch it before it managed to slap her in the face, but she was slightly glad that her assault stopped Sango from talking. Her time with Hiei was personal, even if Sango knew most of it, and she did not spend most of her time in bed with him—only a quarter of it if she wanted to count it all. Sango did not need to talk about it in such a casual way, even if they were alone in her bedroom. "I don't need Jakotsu and  _you_  talking about stuff like that!"

"Why?" Sango asked. "If you love him so much, why are you so embarrassed?"

Kagome paused, knowing that Sango was right, and she grudgingly told her so. Then, she glared at her slightly, and in a soft voice asked, "You said he was back, right?"

"Sure did," Sango said.

"And dinner's ready?" Kagome continued.

"Mmhm," Sango nodded.

"I'll come downstairs in five minutes then," Kagome said, a small smile on her lips.

"What's wrong with you coming down in your—" Sango began to ask.

" _Kagome! Kagome!_ " Jakotsu's voice came from downstairs. "You  _simply_   ** _have_**  to come see this! Your cutie has brought you something that you simply have to see! Come on now, sugar, don't leave us waiting!"

"Or I could go down now," Kagome said, sliding out of bed. Her pajamas—though Jakotsu had insisted for some time that she wear one of the nighties in her closest that Sango had insisted on buying—were quickly smoothed out and she moved to walk out her bedroom door with her sister.

" _Kagome_ ," Jakotsu continued to yell, "hurry up! Your sweetie has brought you the cutest little creature that you're simply going to love!"

Jakotsu's yells continued until they made it to the top of the stairs and saw him waving excitedly at them. Hiei stood beside him, his arms crossed, and one hand strangely going through petting motions, as if he was trying to calm his anger, and they had no doubt that he was with Jakotsu yelling in his ear. Then, Jakotsu rushed up to meet them and grabbed Kagome's hand in order to drag her down the stairs and toss her in front of her bored looking boyfriend. His enthusiasm did not die as he stared happily at them, his gaze quickly darting back and forth as he waited, his hands clasped together in excitement.

"Kagome," Hiei greeted. He felt the animal in his arms shift, obviously annoyed with the fact that he had held it down for so long. However, he did not refrain his hold on it, and wondered for a moment why he was cursed with stepping on its tail. In fact, he had a strange feeling that his deceased friend had something to do with it from wherever the dead went, just to get a laugh out of his situation. He would not put it past Kuwabara with how many times he had insulted him when he was alive.

"Hello, Hiei," Kagome smiled. "I didn't expect you back until tomorrow with how Sesshoumaru normally likes to work."

"Hn," Hiei frowned. Then, without a care, he grabbed the creature in his arms by the scruff of its neck and held it out to her. He noticed instantly that the two women were staring at the small creature hanging from his fingers, blinking slightly in confusion. Jakotsu gave a squeal beside him, obviously not concerned for his ears or the animal's health, and clapped his hands a few times.

Kagome reached out hesitantly, and took the small kitten from Hiei's hand. The poor thing was shaking a bit once Hiei released it, and turned its head, its ears drawn back, seeming to glare at Hiei with its blue eyes. Raising the kitten to eye level, she noticed that it did not appear to be feral, and did not seem to even care that she was handling it. Its ears perked up as it stared at her, though the end of its tail was twitching slightly, and she smiled brightly at the small creature. "Oh, you're so cute," she giggled.

"You can have it if you want it," Hiei stated at that moment.

"It?" Kagome asked.

Sango sighed and took the kitten from her sibling. Inspecting it for a few minutes, she smiled, and gave the kitten back. "It's a boy," she said. "And I know just what Kagome's going to name him." She noticed that Kagome frowned deeply, petting the small kitten as she and Jakotsu cheered, "Buyo!" together.

"A boy?" Kagome muttered. Her last three Buyo's had only lived to about seven to nine years of age before they had either died of an illness, got hit by a car, or disappeared into the night. She would love to name the little kitten in her arms Buyo, but she had a feeling that doing so would end with Buyo IV disappearing on her too. "And you're wrong."

"About what?" Jakotsu blinked in surprise.

"I'm going to name him Masayoshi," Kagome smiled. "Shining goodness."

Hiei allowed his lips to tilt slightly into a smile, seeing Kagome so happy as she and Jakotsu fussed over the small animal. He had known that the gesture would be enough to cheer her up, and he hoped that as she fussed over it and cared for it that her happiness would begin to return. Perhaps now she would see he was serious in his affections, and he was not going to dump her off to the side. In his opinion, there was no woman that could truly take the piece of him that she held so tightly in her grasp and twist it until it was their own. She was a single shining light, no one would ever compare to her.

* * *

Inuyasha frowned, flicking the lights of his apartment on. The darkness signaled that Kikyo was still out and would most likely go back to Emiko's house for the night. However, he had called Kikyo's cell, and Emiko's home number, and no one was picking up either device. He could understand if Kikyo turned her phone off if they were still out, her friends usually insisted on going to some place where music could drown out even the most frightened of screams, so he was not worried. That did not mean that he was not be a bit annoyed, though, since he had promised to make up his lost time with her, and she decided to go out with her friends and blow him off.

 

Throwing his keys onto the nearest flat surface, he moved into the living room area and turned the television on after snatching the remote from the couch. He flipped through the channels quickly, stopping when he noticed the bastard on the news, and scowled at his elder sibling. The words being exchanged between Sesshoumaru and the news reporter told him that they were speaking up the upcoming party. Not that he really cared, but it irked him a bit that Sesshoumaru, the ass, was constantly seen by thousands upon thousands of people—even when he tried to avoid it—while he got kicked the curb until he went to the stupid events Sesshoumaru insisted on throwing.

He snorted as his elder spoke of his company's progression after being asked by the pretty blonde holding her microphone up for him to speak into. Sesshoumaru showed so much indifference that it was hard to decide whether he was truly happy with what he was talking about, or pissed off with the news reporter standing at his side. Inuyasha would be willing to bet the bastard was hiding his hatred toward the blonde, deciding to remain civil and simply answer her questions after she had cornered him. The asshole always looked like he was in his element, but Inuyasha seriously doubted that anyone could actually be that uncaring about  _everything_.

It was just another perfect reason for him to loathe the  _high_  and  _mighty_  businessman. Not only had his elder  _half_ -brother been praised constantly because of the fact that he was first born, but he had been given the greatest education money could buy him, and continuously got grades that would have made anyone jealous. He had instantly been named the heir of their father's company, without hesitation, when he had managed to surpass his entire class and graduate early, while he struggled to even pass his grade at the time as everyone ignored him. His father's eyes brightened whenever the cocky bastard stepped into the room, and though his father told him he loved them both, he had always had the feeling that Sesshoumaru was the better son.

Hell, the only thing he had gotten when his old man died was a good sum of money, and his prized convertible, Tetsusaiga. Even those were not very valuable in his eyes, since Sesshoumaru constantly challenged his right to his money, and he had nearly totaled the blasted car eighteen times. His money would be useless if he did not go with the agreement that his father had set down in his will, and the car did him absolutely no good if he managed to smash it to pieces. His old man had left him to fend for himself, while Sesshoumaru got everything else, from his company to his huge fucking house.

Wishing once more that he could just strangle both of them, he flipped the channel. There was no reason to make his hatred and anger bubble anymore until the stupid party started, because at least then he could pound his brother's face into the ground—then again, he probably would not be able to do that, since the bastard had taken so many martial art classes it was ridiculous. Besides, he could always laugh about the fact that Sesshoumaru was raising a child, even if she was adopted, and loveless, while he was getting sex almost every time he asked for it. The bastard might have his flings, but he doubted that he had many with long hours he worked and the kid living in his house.

Deciding that was good enough for him at the moment, Inuyasha chose a channel, tossed the remote onto the couch, and went to get himself a drink. If he had to spend the night alone, Kagura once again refusing to allow him into her pants, then he was at least going to spend it drunk. At least then he would feel better, and when Kikyo got back he would be able to fuck her into the mattress, since he was positive she would be willing either way—unlike that blasted bitch, Kagura.

* * *

"Kagura, is everything well?" came a soft, somewhat dull voice. "You look a bit pale."

 

Kagura turned her head, and sighed. "I'll be willing to tell you when I know myself, Kanna. It's just something doesn't feel right whenever I'm around Inuyasha. I like him, but he seems to try too hard whenever he's around me. Like he's having a hard time accepting our situation, but also wanting it a bit too much."

"Perhaps he is shy," Kanna suggested, her voice still light.

Kagura snorted, turning her complete attention to the small albino sitting at her side. "I doubt that," she replied. "He's practically tried to pounce on me twice now, but the way he does it is off. I know somethings wrong, but I can't figure out exactly what it is that's sending warnings into my head." She watched as her sister's lashes rested lightly on her cheeks as she closed in dark eyes in thought, before they opened to stare at her once more.

"Have you tried asking him why he acts that way?" Kanna asked.

"There's no point," Kagura sighed. "He's the type of guy that doesn't like to talk about his problems. Personally, I like it that he doesn't, since we have a lot of problems of our own to deal with—I don't need his added on top of it."

"But if the problem is affecting you as well, perhaps you should reconsider your decision," Kanna said. She stared deeply into her elder's eyes, knowing that her point was getting across. Kanna watched her as she thought, as she clasped her hands together, and then grabbed ahold of the bottom of her shirt. It was a reflex she had always had, wanting to feel something in her hands, even if it was simply her other one.

"Sometimes I hate the fact that you have become so intelligent," Kagura muttered. "Whatever happened to the little girl that used to hang on my arm and beg me to take her to the park? Because I think I liked her better, since she didn't constantly try to screw up my logic."

Kanna gave a small smile. "We have both changed, sister."

Kagura's frown softened, before she reached out to wrap her arm around Kanna's shoulders, pulling her closer. Looking down at her when she looked up, Kagura nodded a few times in agreement. "Yeah," she replied. "Yeah, we have."

* * *

His calculating eyes took in the scene within moments, moving from the spreading blood to the twisted body of the girl lying in the middle of the alleyway. His brushed his hand subconsciously over his jacket, the black material smoothing out with the action. The fingers of his other hand twitched slightly, looking closely at the markings on the girl's neck. However, as he did so, another tapped him on the shoulder, and his focus was snapped away from the scene in front of him. So, slowly, he turned his head to glare at the one responsible.

 

"I'm sorry to bother you, Shimizu-san," the woman said. "However, I was told to give you any assistance possible with this case, and I wished to ask if there was anything you might need at the moment."

He snorted, glaring a bit more, before asking, "What I need at the moment?"

"Yes, sir," she nodded.

"Tell me, what is your name?" he asked.

She frowned slightly at the question, but replied, "Ishikure, sir. Ishikure Tsubaki."

"Well then," he replied, turning his eyes back toward the scene in front of him, "I have only one thing I need from you, Ishikure-san." His cold eyes began to take in the scene once more, flashes of what may have occurred going through his head as he ignored the woman for a moment. His fingers dipped lightly into the blood leaking from the dead girl's skull, wondering if her skull had been bashed into the pavement, or she had truly fallen, as they had first believed.

"What would that be, sir?" Tsubaki asked. She did not like this man already from his attitude. Once again she cursed her fate, wondering why they always chose her to be the one to help these pricks. She might look younger than she actually was, but she doubted that should matter while they were on the job. In fact, she rolled her eyes each time it happened, since they were just a bunch of perverts that liked to watch her hips sway as she walked away.

"Do not speak anymore," he hissed. "Stay as silent as you possibly can, for I do not wish to hear your annoying voice in my ear while I work."

Tsubaki gritted her teeth together, and nodded. Then, she growled, "Yes, sir," before marching away. If he did not want her to speak, it was quite obvious he did not want her help either. Let the prick do whatever he wanted, she was not going to help him even if her superior told her to get her ass back out on the field.

Youko grunted a bit, smearing the blood on his fingers with his thumb, wondering. He knew the girl had not fallen from a window, it was obvious from the lack of glass, but there was a possibility that she had fallen from the roof. However, as he turned his head upward, estimating the distance to the ground, his eyes narrowed. From her twisted limbs it was quite possible she had fallen, but that did not explain the bruising on her arms or her neck as he gazed closer.

His eyes became unfocused for a brief moment, his memory straying away from his job to the night before. He quickly shook his head, telling himself that he needed to focus, no matter how appealing the woman the other night had been. Though, her response was a bit more than he had expected from her, almost like she was more excited about being with him than anything else for some strange reason. In fact, her excitement even before he had taken her home, her eagerness to get her claws and fangs into him, had been a bit off. It was almost as if she had  _needed_  it, rather than simply wanted it, and that caused his mind to wonder even more.

He was a very logical being; it was what happened him with his occupation, as he gazed at all the possibilities over and over, checking and rechecking again and again. He calculated things to the dot, his eyes taking in as much of the outside world as they could while he did so. He gave every possibility a chance before throwing it out the window, and he was giving the possibility that the woman from the night before might have been a common whore a very thorough checking. It did not bother him if she was, but the way she had acted gave him another possibility.

He believed she might be cheating on someone.

Of course, he did not care if she was one way or another; it gave his little game a little more excitement. However, on who and why were questions that plagued him as soon as he thought of it. His curiosity simply would not let the questions go, no matter how many times he reasoned with himself that the woman would not hold his attention very long. She was like every other woman before her, one that would soon be tossed into the bin as he lost interest, yet his curious side refused to let him leave the mystery behind her alone.

He looked closer at the bruising on the woman's neck, his fingers twitching again, before he brought his hand up. Then, turning it slightly so that it was covering the markings from his view, he determined that the dead girl had been choked at some point. His eyes narrowed a bit more, the possibility that that had been the cause of her death coming to mind. He noticed then a small bruise that was out of place, and determined it to be some type of ring or band from around the other person's hand—male, if his estimate was correct.

Scanning her once more, he noticed her left hand twisted out from her body in perfect view. He had not been looking for it before, but he noticed the golden band on her ring finger. He knew there was a possibility she had put it on that finger, but he would not deny the fact that the bruising on her neck appeared to be from a left hand, the male's ring finger containing the band that had dug into her neck. A number of possibilities flared behind his eyes when they closed, many containing a male, possibly her husband, choking her and tossing her from the top of one of the buildings rising high above his head.

Rising from his position, he decided to think on it for a while as the others came to look the girl over now that he was finished. After all, he needed all the facts, and he knew that some that came from the lab would also help him piece together the situation. The information that came in within the next few hours would help him finish the job, as he had always done, just as the information he would be sure to get out of the woman from the night before would help him piece together her little life.

A smirk came to Youko's face, as he watched the others work. He was positive that things were going to be interesting, but he would make sure to take careful steps, and cover his tracks with such accuracy that no one would ever know he was there. He would be like a ghost, watching and waiting to strike, but never seeming to actually be there. That was what he was good at, striking from the shadows as others wondered where his assault had come from.

Dusting his hand over his jacket once more, he turned away from the scene completely. His eyes caught sight of the scowling Tsubaki, but did not linger there long as he moved away. He knew that when the information came in he would be the first they called. He had no doubt about that, so for the time being he could look over the facts he already knew about his new lover, as well as go over the facts he already knew from scanning the scene he had left. He knew from experience he could do both, and he had no doubt that in the end he  _would_  figure out the mystery behind at least one.


	14. Chapter 14

"You know, it's good to see you smile again, Kagome," Sango said.

Kagome looked up from the small toy that she had squeezed between her fingers, allowing it to squeak quite loudly. She blinked, before saying, "I don't remember when I stopped _smiling_." Then, she turned her attention back to the section of cat toys, looking up at the fancy feathers and down to the small round and colorful balls that jingled once moved. It had been a while since she had had to do any of this, whether it was to buy toys or simply cat food, but she was glad to have a distraction from her current troubles.

Sango rolled her eyes, placing a hand onto her shoulder. "You know perfectly well that I meant you stopped smiling for real. I know the difference, Kagome, and there's no fooling me." She watched as Kagome ignored her, picking up and putting down things that she did not need to buy but still probably debated on for the kitten's comfort. "I could tell whenever you were trying to hide it, and when you were happy because you were finally pushing for something that you wanted to keep. But, I still wish you'd see the difference between Inuyasha and Hiei."

"I know the difference," Kagome replied. "Hiei is sweet—he cares and he loves me. Inuyasha was a jerk, and I never should have looked at him."

"Hiei sweet?" Sango blinked. "Are you sure we're talking about the same person? I know that he loves you; that he cares, but sweet? Kagome, I really don't think that's the right word to describe him, even if he did give you that cat."

"You said yourself that he's a good man, that he's good for me," Kagome smiled. "But, even if you do say those things, you're not around him the way I am. Hiei can be very sweet, just not around other people. He can be gentle and loving, even if he tries to deny it."

Sango frowned, "Then why did you doubt that he would want to continue your relationship?"

"Because I doubted him," Kagome whispered, placing the next toy back into its bin. "I trampled on his trust, because I thought that he would trample over mine. Hiei might love me, but I know him well enough to know that once his trust has been destroyed, he is not likely to give it back again. I am happy that he has decided to try again, but I know that it will be hard to ever get him to trust me again completely."

"You'll never do anything like this again, though," Sango said sternly. She knew it was true, but she knew that she also needed to pound it into Kagome's head in order to make her believe it, too. "So, you'll never give Hiei another reason to doubt you, and if he loves you enough, he'll trust you no matter what. You don't need to worry about that, Kagome."

Kagome wondered if her sister was basing this off of her relationship with Bankotsu, which was much different than her own. She loved Sango, but she wanted her to understand that their relationships were much different, no matter how cruel their men could both be. Sango had nothing to worry about, because Bankotsu had six brothers who could tell her everything about him, whether he was loyal to his woman or if he loved her. Hiei had no one that truly knew him inside and out that she could talk to, mostly because Kurama always told her that Hiei's secrets were his own, and when he was willing to share he would. But, she supposed, she was a fool, since she had never even thought of going to talk to him when the doubts began to rise—Kurama would have known what to do, he would have stopped her from making a mistake.

Sango noticed the way Kagome had stopped all movement, and squeezed her shoulder. "What are you thinking about, Kagome?" she asked.

"I'm such an idiot."

"Everyone makes mistakes," Sango said. "You can't be perfect, Kagome. I know I've already told you this, but you have to understand that Hiei has to take the good with the bad. You have to put up with his qualities, and he has to put up with yours. You're not stupid, you're just a woman who blanked out when you thought everything was turning out the way it had before."

"I should have spoken with Kurama," she whispered. "I could have stopped this from happening."

"But it did happen. You can't change that now, and you shouldn't dwell on it, either," Sango continued. "Yeah, maybe you should have thought about talking with Kurama, but you'll know to next time. Right now, though, you need to focus on getting your feet back on the ground, and your mind out of the past. You need to focus on what you want, on making Hiei trust you completely again, not on what you should and should not have done to make it this way."

"I'm sorry," Kagome smiled weakly. "I know what I want, I know that I want to make our relationship work. I just can't seem to stop thinking about this for some reason—I think it's because I don't have anything to distract me. I know why Hiei didn't want to come here, but I had hoped that Jakotsu would at least think about coming."

Sango shook her head, "We can do without them. Besides, when was the last time that we had a real girl's only day?"

"I don't know," Kagome laughed lightly.

"So, it's settled," Sango smiled. "We're going to buy this stuff, return it to the shrine, and then we're going to do something without any men. Trust me, a day without them will do us both some good."

"You just want to avoid Bankotsu." Kagome returned her eyes to the toys in front of her, smiling a bit at the remembrance of the kitten she now had at home. Masayoshi. He was almost the most wonderful gift that she had ever gotten, but though he came in second, he was still the sweetest thing a male had ever given her. Sure, she had gotten jewelry, strange trinkets, clothing, and a number of other items that she still cherished, but she knew that Hiei had taken a few moments to think over his decision when it came to the kitten. He had known Masayoshi would make her happy, and having something to care for again would make her happy, since the kitten really only wanted food, water, a nice home, and affection for what it gave in return.

"Maybe so," Sango scowled, "but that beast will soon learn that no one calls Higurashi Sango a bitch to her face and gets away with it. And once he has, perhaps I shall think about allowing him back onto the shrine grounds."

Kagome could not stop a blush from powdering her face as she chose her next words. "What about when you're in the heat of the moment?" she asked, watching as Sango stiffened, blushing a bit. "Bankotsu seemed to think that it was perfectly fine for him to call you whatever he wanted when you were tumbling in the sheets, so why can't he—"

Sango scowled a bit more, pulling her hand away from its new home over Kagome's mouth. "Hush, you scandalous woman, you," she growled, trying to stop her laughter. However, she could not get the light blush to leave her cheeks, heating her face the more she thought about what he had said. "You agreed with me completely earlier when I kicked him out, you cannot change your mind after all this time. It would be outrageous. I will not have it, not on this day!"

"Have you always been this weird, Sango?"

"Perhaps," Sango smiled. She glanced at Kagome out of the corner of her eye the next moment, and cheered silently to herself when she realized that she had seemed to forget about her problems. Instead, she had returned to looking through the toys that she was debating on getting, though there were a million just like them in a box under the staircase. She supposed that anything to get her mind off of her troubles was worth it, and she was looking forward to having a day of quality time—it had been quite some time since they had had one.

* * *

"Is everything alright, Keiko?" Yukina asked. "You've been rather quiet."

Keiko smiled at her friend, shaking her head at her concern. "I'm fine, Yukina, really. Rini merely asked me when we could go see Yusuke, and I'm not quite sure what to tell her. Actually, I'm pretty sure she's upset with me now, since I left her upstairs by herself."

"Does Rini understand that you're upset with him?" Yukina replied.

"Yes," Keiko nodded. "But she's too young to understand  _why_ , so she's been asking me the same question all day. I'm not sure what to do with her, since I can't just tell her what Yusuke's done. She'd probably hate me for trying to make her think her father's done something so wrong."

"She's your daughter, too, Keiko. I'm sure that after a while she would see reason and understand your feelings," Yukina stated. Yes, Rini was young, but she was smart girl. She would understand that what her father had done was bad, and see her mother's side of the story. Yukina was sure of it, since she had always suspected that little girl knew a lot more than she let on.

"But that will only be after there's a war zone," Keiko mumbled. "She managed to  _not_  get my temper, but she has gotten Yusuke's stubbornness. I wouldn't be surprised if in a few years she started throwing punches because someone insulted her or her friends."

"If you want, Keiko, I'll talk to her about it," Yukina smiled calmly. "Rini has always been extremely good with me. I doubt she'll blow up on me like you believe she would you."

Keiko laughed, "I remember the last time. I tried to tell her that her father wouldn't be coming home when she expected him, and she flipped. I saw so much of Yusuke in her that day, as she tried to turnover a good amount of the furniture in her way. I had to carry her kicking and screaming for him up to her room, and I don't think she calmed down until he got there."

"Wasn't that the day that Koenma asked Yusuke to stay after hours?" Yukina asked. She smiled fondly at the memory, since the barely four year old had not understood the reason her father was not going to come home at the time he usually did, and had changed before her mother's eyes. She had never heard of any such violence from her since, but she was as sure as the sun would rise that somewhere it was hiding underneath her pleasant surface.

"Yes, he had to do some extra work that Koenma was afraid wouldn't be completed on time," Keiko replied. "Rini didn't take so well to it. And I think that this situation is beginning to take the same turn that one did."

Yukina nodded in understanding. She knew that Rini was sad about her parent's fighting, that she wanted them together, but eventually the little girl would get impatient. She had never been able to wait for anything very long, almost like she wanted the days to pass by faster just so what she wanted could come to pass. The little girl hated waiting, but Yukina did not want to see what the impatient child would end up doing should her parent's continue fighting. Yes, she was a good girl, but that did not mean she could not have a tantrum.

"I've already told her that Yusuke did something bad, and I've told her that I'd give him a chance to fix it, but I can see it in the way she moves," Keiko sighed. "She's beginning to think that Yusuke's not going to come, and I'm not going to do anything to try to change it. And there's the problem, Yukina, because I  _won't_. If Yusuke wants to be such an ass that he won't admit to his mistake, then I don't want anything to do with him anymore."

"And you're not sure how that will make Rini feel?"

Keiko nodded. "Yukina, do you think she'll hate me if I decide that enough is enough?"

"I know that Rini loves you," Yukina said. "I know that she doesn't like to see you fight, but I'm also sure that after a while, she would see the reason behind your judgment. She might not like it, and she might say she hates you, but she'll love you no matter what."

"Yeah," Keiko sighed. "Yeah."

"I'll still talk to her if you wish it, though," Yukina smiled again. "After all, she's already told me so much, I'm sure that she'll be willing to tell me the rest of her thoughts. And I'll try everything in my power to keep her from becoming too impatient with you."

"Thank you," Keiko smiled back. "I just hope that Yusuke gets off his lazy ass, or you can manage to calm her the way he does. I've never been very good at keeping my own temper down whenever she gets this way."

* * *

The door opened with ease, as Kikyo twisted the knob. Pulling the keys from the center, she stepped into the apartment she shared with Inuyasha, allowing her smile to stretch out a little more. Oh, how wonderful she felt at the moment. Her night had been simply marvelous, but her day had become even more so once she had been given the chance to brag about her new conquest to her friends. It was always so laughable, since Hitomi and Emiko would complain about how she always managed to catch the best men.

Well, besides Inuyasha.

The very thought of him brought her back to the present, so she cast her eyes around the space she could see. She had frowned that morning after realizing Youko had gone, almost vanished, but even more so when Inuyasha had failed to call. She had searched for her clothing in order to find her phone, but once she had obtained the object, she found that Inuyasha had tried to contact her only once. It was so much more fun whenever she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, or heard it ringing when she felt the need to leave it on, whenever she was away from him. And since he had failed to contact her phone more than five times, it meant he had failed to call Hitomi or Miwa's in case they had left theirs on.

Raising her hand slightly, she ran the fingers through her hair once more. However, the sight before her eyes told her all she needed to know. There was no reason for her to even try and look presentable, since it was clear Inuyasha might not remember any of this moment should she wake him. After all, from the alcohol bottles surrounding him on the couch, it was clear he would most likely have one killer hangover. Anything she told him would be at least half-forgotten, and anything he saw would be blanked out from the pain in his head.

Sighing, Kikyo wondered once more why she did not listen to her girlfriends once in a while. They had told her when she had first met Inuyasha that he might be a fun ride in the beginning, but eventually he would become more of a burden than anything else. Of course, they had spoken from their cold, black hearts, since they were always jealous that she could get such high-class and wealthy men. Kikyo knew that because they were such cold-hearted women that they were slightly wrong—Inuyasha would always be adorable, even if he were a burden. The fact that he had gotten quite a bit of cash from his dead daddy was a bonus, too.

Pursing her lips out, she remembered that she would have to buy something to wear for Sesshoumaru's get together. Something that would catch the attention of the camera's present, so that at every turn she could dodge them at the last moment. What fun she would have that night, too, since she did not wish to break up Inuyasha's fun with Kagura. No, because it meant that she got to play her game a little longer, pulling all the strings as if she was a puppet master. The only way to do that, if she so must go to this party on Inuyasha's arm, was to make sure that her face was never captured, her name never caught.

Yes, Kagura would question the fact that Inuyasha did not invite her to the party once the list of people present was handed her way. However, Inuyasha, as dense as he often was, would have a greater chance of dodging around Kagura's suspicion if Kagura never knew whom  _exactly_  it was Inuyasha had taken. Kagura might believe that it had been her Inuyasha took, but without full proof, she would not fall away from the catch she had gotten with him. Kagura was not that stupid.

So, Kikyo's game would continue, expand, until she got bored with it and told Inuyasha to break Kagura's poor, little heart. Kagura was not family, not related in any way, so Kikyo would have fun deciding how to dish out the stone-cold truth to her. Kagura would not be given the sweet goodbye that she had told Inuyasha to give Kagome, but instead have the facts thrown into her face if she had anything to say about it. After all, she had not wished to bring so much pain to her cousin while playing her game, but it had become inevitable as the game progressed—Kagome had been lucky, though, to walk away with only a broken heart. Kagura, however, would  _never_  be so lucky.

Stepping forward, Kikyo moved to Inuyasha's side. She leaned over him, before softly pressing at his ribs to stir him. A small smile spread across her face when his golden eyes opened a bit to gave upon her. "Inuyasha," she called softly, "what in the world have you been doing all night?" To remain on the safe side, Kikyo decided to speak as if he was as clean as rainwater.

"Drinking, woman," Inuyasha mumbled in irritation. "What the hell does it look like?"

Kikyo frowned, "Now, now, Inuyasha. There's no need to curse at me when I ask a simple question."

Inuyasha mumbled again, this time something that could not be deciphered. He reached up through the fog in his head, and scratched lazily at his cheek. Yawning, he tried to roll onto his side, wishing that the day would pass by without him. The pain in his head was increasing with each word passing from his woman's lips, and he just wanted her to go away so that he could continue sleeping. However, as he finally managed to turn onto his side, she poked him again, this time a bit harder than she had before.

"Inuyasha," Kikyo scolded, "you really should get up."

"No," Inuyasha complained. "Don't wanna."

Kikyo rolled her eyes at his childishness. She did not ask much of him, simply to please her and do as she says. Was it truly so hard to do either of those two requests? "Inuyasha, you should get up. I'll make you something to deal with your headache. However, once you have managed to awaken completely, I want to be able to go out shopping. I need something to wear for Sesshoumaru's party, and you have to come to make sure it will be appropriate for the occasion."

Shaking his head, Inuyasha buried his face into the side of the couch. He could not remember much from the night before, but he knew that he wanted nothing to do with his asshole half-brother. That bastard did not deserve his effort, or that of his woman. "Don't see why," he growled. "Fucking bastard don't deserve anything he's got already."

"I never said I was going to do it for him," Kikyo huffed. "I said I needed something appropriate for his  _party_  or whatever it is he calls them."

Watching Inuyasha try to bury himself into the side of the couch, Kikyo decided to go make him some tea first. He was going to be difficult this morning. However, Kikyo knew that from the moment she cast her eyes over the bottles of alcohol he had obviously consumed. On a normal day Inuyasha could prove to be denser than a large boulder, but on days that he had decided to drink, he was worse than a two year old.

"Damn, blasted woman," he mumbled.

A two year old with a mouth that needed to be scrubbed out with soap.

* * *

"So, where have you been all day, pretty boy?"

Kurama turned his eyes toward the man smiling at him innocently, batting his eyes as if it would gain his attention. However, despite the fact that he was still uncomfortable with how much attention he got, Kurama was used to Jakotsu's nature. "I was called in to examine a body found around five this morning," he replied.

Jakotsu nodded in understanding. "Shame," he sighed, "I've been stuck here all day with Kagome's sweet, little cutie. It would have been  _so_  much better if you could have come by sooner." Jakotsu leaned into the redheaded male, laughing on the inside as the other man inched away from him. He knew full well that Kurama liked his women, but it was fun to play with such a pretty piece of work.

"Oh?" Kurama frowned. "And where exactly has Kagome been all day?"

Hiei rolled his eyes, "Hn."

Jakotsu giggled a bit at Hiei's response. "Oh, Sango decided that Kagome and her needed a girl's day out. So, they came home a few hours ago from getting things for little Masayoshi," he stroked the kitten's fur, "to tell us. They've been gone ever since, leaving me all alone with mister silent over there. I really don't see why I couldn't have gone with them, but Sango insisted."

"I see. So, Kagome is recovering from what has happened?" Kurama asked.

Hiei nodded.

Jakotsu's eyes flashed, "Of course she is! If my Kagome were not getting better, I would find this blasted Yusuke and smear his pretty face further into the ground for what he did to her! To take advantage of my sweet little Kagome in her time of need is a hideous crime, and ruining his pretty face would be a fine contribution for what he has done."

Kurama's own eyes sharpened, "I take it that you've already done something to him?"

A wicked grin broke over Jakotsu's face. "Oh, brother Bankotsu and I would have done much more than we did if he didn't manage to sneak away. Shame, too, since I had so wanted to see how he would look with blood dripping over his pretty features." He stared into Kurama's face, and noticed his look. "Don't give me that look. I've done nothing wrong. Besides, I hear that Hiei got a nice little swing at him when he was sweet enough to take Kagome out for ice cream. Didn't you, cutie?"

"I did," Hiei nodded. "He tried to deny what he had done."

"Good reason to hit him, I say," Jakotsu nodded.

Kurama sighed. These two were lucky that Yusuke was not the type to bring police into his business. If he were, they would both most likely have a nice spot within a cell somewhere nearby—Bankotsu, too. So, he told them as such, though he knew that that was most likely the reason Hiei hit Yusuke. His logic would have most likely told him otherwise—then again, they were talking about the only woman Hiei would admit he cared for—and he would have backed down for a better opportunity.

Jakotsu snorted, "As if my brothers would allow Bankotsu or I to stay in a jail for long. And Bankotsu, after he was freed, would make sure to get Kagome's comfort back to her side. We simply could not bare the thought of her being alone and scared when all she needs is her little Hiei to be at her side."

"Of course," Kurama nodded. It was true. The Shimizu brothers had a lot of influence in this part of the country, and probably further than he knew about. Often times the things they did went overlooked because of some piece of charity they had given, or some priceless artifact Renkotsu had dug up was donated to a museum somewhere. The family held themselves on top so that those who strayed for a single moment were given a second, or third, chance in society—so the acts of violence far and between were overlooked when they happened.

Hiei glanced up, "And I am not stupid enough to put myself there. I might have felt the need to wipe the world clean of Yusuke originally, but I know that with people like you about, it would be easy to tell who had committed the crime. So I left him be, since I will not leave Kagome unless she wishes me to."

"That's not entirely true if you hit him, Hiei," Kurama chuckled.

Hiei ignored him, glancing down at his watch after a moment. He had nowhere to go, he did not even plan on leaving, but Sango had promised him that she would return with his girlfriend before eleven. It was only seven, which irritated him, since it meant he would have four more hours of listening to nonsense pass between Kurama and Jakotsu until Kurama decided to leave. Then he would have who knows how much time alone with Jakotsu and that stupid kitten, when he could be using the time to pull Kagome from her remaining sadness.

Jakotsu appeared bored with the subject, and sighed lightly, "I wonder what brother is doing right now."

"Probably holding his bat close to his chest and wishing he hadn't pissed Sango off," Hiei replied.

Jakotsu laughed a bit, waving his hand in the air. "You're so blunt, cutie! But you're probably right, since he usually looks to Banryuu when he's down. Though, I imagine that by now he's probably watching that porn he has hidden and  _really_  wishing he had not pissed off Sango. Brother's got a bad problem with that, and an even bigger one once he decides to do it!"

Kurama smiled in humor.

After Jakotsu quieted down, silence filled the air between them. Jakotsu squirmed in his seat, wishing that he could have gone with the girls; since he knew that Sango had probably wrestled Kagome into a movie she did not want to see and would soon be going off to buy something. Oh, how he wished he were there! At least then he could be helping Kagome pick out what she wanted to wear and giggle to himself about how much blood might come out of Hiei's nose when he saw her. Of course, he sighed, Kagome always put those things back onto the shelf, though.

Hiei leaned back, happy for the silence at the moment. He was not sure how much he could put up with both Kurama and Jakotsu.

"So…" Jakotsu said after a record three minutes, "what are we going to do until the girls come back?"


	15. Chapter 15

He smiled a little, sitting down across from his old friend in the booth. His wolfish grin caused her to shake her head, knowing that he was trying to make her laugh, and he was glad that his plan had worked somewhat. Though, it was rather disappointing that she had to be so serious all the time. Once he had settled, he asked, "Sup?"

"Kouga," she greeted him. "It has been quite some time."

"Yeah," Kouga chuckled. "I just got this crazy idea that I should call you, being in town and all. And your company is a lot better than some of it I've almost picked up within the last week."

"Oh?" the woman blinked. "What were you doing, going to clubs again?"

He nodded, saying, "Course I was! Mihoko loved that place, and used to go there all the time. I wanted to see if I could catch up with her, but apparently she's stopped going since the last time I was in town."

"So, you two aren't dating anymore?" she asked.

"Nope," Kouga replied.

"Was it because of Ayame?" she questioned, her tone rather dry. She had not liked that red headed girl. They had clashed much like fire clashed with ice, and it had taken her quite some time to actually contact Kouga. Little bitch had started making sure to delete her messages to his house—damn man could not keep track of a cell phone—thinking that there was something going on between them.

And again, just like during the strained years of friendship, she snorted at the thought.

He reached up to scratch the back of his head, nodding. He knew that she could see right through him. And she probably would have ripped him a new one had he tried to lie. However, he had to ask, "What gave me away, Kagura?"

Dryly, Kagura told him, "That girl had you wrapped around her finger. All she had to do was ask you if you wanted a little, and you'd go skipping around like a good little puppy that obeyed every command it was given."

Kouga was slightly relieved. He knew that Kagura had never liked Ayame—even going as far as to insult her at every turn. But he was glad that his friend decided that this one time she would keep the insults to herself. She must have realized that he had really loved Ayame, even if she could be a little possessive at times. "I suppose you're right," he said.

Kagura huffed, replying, "I know I'm right."

Rolling his eyes, Kouga turned his attention to the waiter that came to take their orders. He told him exactly what both of them would want, having been around Kagura long enough to know what she would have asked for. When the waiter left, he turned his eyes to find that Kagura was glaring at him slightly. "What?"

"I am not mute, you know," Kagura growled. "I can order by myself just fine!"

Kouga chuckled lightly, saying, "Man, when are you going to get over that? Since we order the same thing every time we come in here, it's easier for one of us to just order it all. Quicker, ya know. There's no reason for you to go all independent on me."

Kagura frowned, stating, "When are you going to learn that not everything has to go at breakneck speeds?"

Kouga laughed. Shaking his head, he said, "Hey, you used to like going fast too."

She narrowed her eyes, wondering again why she was his friend in the first place. However, she could not help but notice the slight suggestive tone he added to his statement, and muttered, "We were on the track team, Kouga. I was required to run fast once the finish line was in sight."

"No, you just wanted to win!" Kouga smirked. "And then, you remember don't you—when—"

He was choking on his laughter, but as Kagura's eyebrow twitched, she almost wished he would die a little faster. "Can we not leave the past where it belongs, Kouga?" she hissed lightly, warning him about going any further.

"But—" Kouga snickered. "You were so funny! Thinking you were so great—that you'd never lose—and then what happened?"

Kagura remained silent. She flickered her eyes toward the counter, wondering when their order would come. At least then he could stuff his face into his chocolate pie and stop digging into the one time that she had made a fool of herself. It was not her fault that she had honestly believed she could beat him, since she was always getting times that were much faster than his own. And it certainly was not her fault what happened after they decided to race—in fact, she was quite positive, still, that it was  _his_  fault.

"Oh, come on!" Kouga continued. "You've got to find this funny sometime in your life! I mean, really, you were a great athlete who took a major spill. The whole place was laughing."

"At me!" Kagura spat. "They were laughing at me! Because the track girl who had gotten the nickname 'wind demon' went up against the fastest boy and tripped over her own foot! Personally, Kouga, I still do not find that funny in the slightest!"

Kouga blinked at her red face, bringing his hands up in defense. "Ok, ok," he said. "Calm down. I just thought that after all this time you might find some humor in it. There's no reason to bite my head off."

"I will never find humor in it," Kagura frowned. "Especially when I remember all the lecherous comments you were saying to me while we prepared to start. If I remember correctly, you asked me something that went far over the line when we started, and  _that_  was the reason that I fell on my face."

"Yeah," Kouga said slowly, noticing that their order was coming. He decided not to remind Kagura of exactly what he had said, and was silently happy that she had cast it out of her mind. After all, anyone could slip up when they were asked if they participated in incest and if the person issuing the question could join in. Not that he had actually wanted to, he just wanted to rile her up some—he had not expected her to fall.

"So," she sighed, "what were you saying earlier? About picking up some unwanted company?"

Glad that she had dropped the subject, Kouga took the piece of chocolate pie from the waiter, and waited until Kagura had her coffee. Then, he shrugged, taking a small bite of the delicious dessert. "Well," he gulped down the small piece of pie, "I approached by a couple of whores. Can't remember their names. But there was this one woman who I remember completely."

Kagura raised her eyebrow, asking, "Are you sure you weren't interested?"

"Hell no," Kouga growled. "I only remembered the bitch because she mentioned the name of that blasted idiot, Inuyasha."

"Oh?" Kagura asked. Her face became neutral, allowing him to go on with his little rant.

He was suspicious for a moment, and knew deep down that her suddenly sweet tone meant trouble. Big trouble that would be directed at him, and that piece of him deep inside shivered at the very thought. However, he continued, saying, "She kept trying to come onto me, even after I told her that I was still thinking about my last girlfriend. She obviously wanted sex or something—pretty sure of that. Said her name was Kikyo."

"Kikyo?" Kagura's eyes narrowed. If that damn Inuyasha had lied to her—

"Yeah," Kouga went on. "She said something about having dumped him a while ago. But there was something fishy about the way she said it. Like she was secretly plotting behind her back, ya know."

"Did she say anything else?" Kagura asked.

"Well, I asked if she was the same woman that Inuyasha had used to cheat on another woman—one that Sesshoumaru knows quite well—because he was  _so_  in love with her. That's the only reason why Inuyasha won't come around to the company anymore, because he's too scared to face the music. Sesshoumaru said something about punishment, and he was gone the next day," Kouga shook his head. "That brat needs an ass kickin', too, from what I heard he did to that girl."

"Well, that is quite interesting," Kagura muttered. She had not known  _that_  little piece of information. And if she had, she might have thought twice before deciding to commit to Inuyasha. "Kouga, what would you do if you knew I knew where Inuyasha was?"

"I'd call Sesshoumaru," Kouga frowned in confusion. "It's not my place to interfere, even if I think he did wrong when he cheated on that girl. He cut her down and made her feel like shit from what I heard. But she's back on her feet now—apparently she's dating someone that Sesshoumaru actually trusts."

"And if I told you I knew him personally?"

"How personally we talkin' here?" Kouga asked.

"As in dating wise?" Kagura asked.

"No!" Kouga almost choked on his dessert. "Kagura, don't tell me you're dating that creep!"

"I am," Kagura replied. "But after this conversation, I'm thinking about rethinking that decision. I'd need more information, though, to make certain."

"About what?" Kouga asked.

"Well," Kagura began, "Inuyasha came to me after I had made it clear that I liked him. He said that he had dumped his old girlfriend, Kikyo; in order to get away from the bad situation he had found himself within. However, now I am not quite certain as to whether or not he has been lying to me this entire time. And if he has, he is in for a rude awakening."

Kouga smirked, laughing a little. Kagura was always good with revenge. He knew, he still had the bad memory of how she had gotten him back for making her look like a clumsy fool. And he still could not convince his old track friends that he had  _not_  been sleeping with their sisters and girlfriends. Apparently, Kagura was quite close to a lot of people, and had used her resources well, since the girls had kept their lips shut, despite the lie.

"Hm," Kagura muttered. "Speaking of which, I think I'll need your help."

"Yeah?" Kouga blinked.

"Inuyasha told me that he will be away for a while because he is being forced to go to Sesshoumaru's business party. Well, you'll be there. You can tell me what Inuyasha does in public, since he usually makes sure we're alone," Kagura again frowned at the thought. "And, you can tell me who he goes with, since he told me that he was not allowed to take anyone. I'm pretty sure that's a lie, isn't it?"

"I couldn't tell ya," Kouga replied. "Sesshoumaru might have told Inuyasha he couldn't bring anyone. But, from what I know, a lot of his business partners are bringing their wives, and the senior staff will have dates. In fact, I think that chick that Inuyasha cheated on will be there."

"Well then, will you help me, Kouga?"

The devious gleam in his friend's eyes only increased when he said, "Sure. I've got nothin' better to do than hang around a bunch of greedy old bastards anyway."

* * *

"Rini?"

Rini looked up from the dough she was kneading, surprised that her Godmother Yukina had decided to look away from her work with such a serious gleam in her eye. Usually they would work with the dough in silence until it was put into the oven, and even then her Godmother Yukina was very attentive to the item they were baking. Though, she would answer any question that she might have for her. "Yes?" she asked.

"Rini, you remember when we talked about how people sometimes don't work out, don't you?" Yukina asked. She smiled sadly at the little girl, knowing that her child innocence only wanted her parents to make up. This was just one time that Yukina was not sure that they would, and she knew that Keiko focused on the part of her child that was Yusuke that she could not try to explain the situation. So, she would help the best she could.

Rini nodded a little. She did remember, and she knew that her mother had probably asked Godmother Yukina to talk to her about it again. And she knew it was because of the fact that she wanted to see her father. But, she wanted to try and make her mother see that she needed it too, especially from how sad she looked, even when she was trying to be strong.

Yukina smiled at the adorable gesture that the little girl made with her head. She was not forgetting her task, but she could not help but wish that Yusuke would finally see his wrong. That he would forget his stubbornness and come back for his child and wife. "Well," she said, "that's good."

"Why?" Rini asked. "Is it because mommy's mad at me?"

"Oh, she's not mad, Rini," Yukina said. She blinked, however, at the look that the girl sent her way.

Rini shook her head, replying, "Mommy is mad at me. She told me not to ask about going to see daddy, but I did. And she told me to stay in our room!"

"Your mommy is just," Yukina looked for the correct word, "a little upset, Rini. She knows how much you want to see your daddy, but she wants to make sure that he won't do the bad thing he's done. She wants him to come to her; instead of letting him win and think he can do whatever bad thing he wants."

Rini remained quiet.

"Rini," Yukina asked, "do you understand what your father has done?"

Slowly, Rini shook her head. She said, "Mommy said that daddy went out with another girl that she didn't know, but daddy does that all the time. He goes out to lunch with the girls at work, he told me so, and mommy doesn't know them."

Yukina sighed at the child's innocence, wondering how she could help her understand. "Rini, the way your daddy took this girl out was very different than how he takes out the women at his work."

"How?" Rini asked.

"He takes the women at his work out to lunch because they work with him, and he respects them because of that," Yukina began. She saw the understanding in the little girl's eyes, and was glad that she was getting through to her. "However, the lady that he took out—the one that your mommy is upset over—was someone that he wanted to know beyond respect. He wanted to give her flowers, candy, and gifts like he does your mommy."

"Why would he give her flowers or stuff?" Rini asked. "Daddy said he would only do that with mommy! He told me so!"

"I know he did," Yukina said. "But the time that he took this woman out, he saw her in a way he sees your mommy. And because he saw her that way, and your mommy found out, is the reason that she is angry. Do you understand?"

Rini's cheeks puffed out, as she nodded vigorously. "Daddy said that he would only give flowers and stuff to mommy!" she stated. "Daddy promised me that he would! He lied and that's bad! I know it is, because you're not supposed to break a promise and mommy says that it's bad to lie!"

Yukina smiled. She reached out to pat the young girl's head, saying, "Please, try to keep that in mind, Rini. Your daddy will be forgiven if he apologizes, but if he doesn't or waits too long, your mommy might decide that his actions are too bad. If that happens, Rini, you must promise me that you'll try to understand why your mommy decided to do that. Will you do that for me, Rini?"

Rini nodded more slowly this time, as she said, "I will, Godmother Yukina."

Yukina smiled, happy that she had managed to help her friend. Now all she wished to do was to see Kagome, and make sure that she was truly doing all right. She hated to think of what emotional scars Yusuke's actions had left behind, especially when she knew that Kagome loved Hiei very much. And she could not fully understand why Yusuke would do such a thing, since she had not known him to be one to take advantage of a woman.

Rini returned to her task of kneading the bread, gulping down the lump in her throat. She did not want to think about what her mother would do, but she understood if her father waited too long. He had done something bad—not only by taking that lady out, but by breaking his promise. And if he was bad, he deserved to be punished. Rini was always punished when she did something bad, so she was positive that her father should be punished, too.

But, in her youthful mind, she still hoped that he did not wait long. She did not want her mother and father to be the ones that did not work out. She wanted them to stay together, to stop fighting. She wanted them to be the best mommy and daddy on the block again, just like they were before she went to visit her relatives with her mother. She wanted that, and she hoped.

* * *

"I don't see why I can't see it!" he pouted. "I won't tell him, I  _promise_!"

"Jakotsu," Sango hissed. "I told you 'no'."

"But—!" Jakotsu stuck his bottom lip out the way Kagome had taught him. His look had been perfected long ago, when they had first met and he had decided she had the most perfect pout he had ever seen. And that, despite the fact she was a woman, she was someone that he would be willing to know.

"No, Jakotsu!" Sango growled. "You can't see it! But I will assure you that I picked out the loveliest outfit for Kagome to wear."

Jakotsu faked tears, holding his hands out in front of his face as if in prayer. Giving the woman starry eyes, he asked, "So lovely that I'll get to see Kagome's little cutie faint from the lack of blood?"

Sango's eyebrow twitched, as she said, "Sure. There will probably be quite a bit of blood coming out of his nose."

Jakotsu's face turned mischevious, as he stated, "Unless, of course, it starts rushing to other places."

Sango batted him in the back of the head. She scowled at him, noticing the way that he was beginning to inch toward where she had hidden the outfit she had made Kagome buy. It was simply lovely, but she was  _not_  going to let anyone see it until the day they needed to. Besides, she knew that Jakotsu could wait at least two days.

"You're such a cruel woman," Jakotsu muttered. His eyes slid by her to where her closet was, eyeing the wrapped up outfit that hung there. Oh, if only he could get his hands on it! He could already imagine what Kagome would look like on Hiei's arm, but the picture would be perfect if he knew the right colors and details he should be adding. "I do not understand why big brother likes you so much. Sometimes I think he only puts up with you so he can stay close to my little Kagome."

Sango gave a fierce snarl, while Jakotsu stuck his tongue out at her, quickly turning on his heel to run downstairs. Her sound died away once he was gone, his laughter following after him, but she realized that she was not really angry at him. No, she was angry at the fact that Bankotsu rushed to even apologize. She had  _almost_  thought about giving him a chance that morning, until he had decided to call in order to ask if she had gotten over her tantrum yet.

Honestly, sometimes she was willing to jump back into Miroku's arms just to get away from Bankotsu's idiocy. She would gladly put up with his wandering hand, lecherous words, and perverted thoughts. And she would do it  _all_ , only because Miroku at least showed some intelligence. Unfortunately, though, Miroku had hooked up with an old acquaintance of hers—who dealt with his wandering hand quite nicely—and she was stuck with the oblivious, violent fool.

Sighing, Sango shook her head, thinking,  _Kagome got all the luck in that department it seems_ — _at least in the end._

Moving into her room, Sango made sure to grab the key in order to lock it. She did not need to hear Jakotsu's squeals on her choice, or his constant questioning of what else he could do to make it better. To make  _sure_  Hiei began to bleed profusely from the nose. And though she often wanted to see how much it would take to make the little man crack, she was not going to let Jakotsu take over the entire thing. It was her family time with Kagome, not his advice time.

She also tucked away the little bag that she had made sure Kagome did not know she had purchased. Her sibling was always saying that she either spent too much money on her or that she did not deserve such a thing, and Sango did not want to hear it at that moment. Especially when she knew the little pieces of jewelry would go well with the outfit they had decided upon—or rather  _she_  had decided upon, since Kagome had wanted to go with something that was less expensive. And really, if she knew it would go well, and she wanted to buy it, then she should be able to.

Kagome would just have to get over it once again.

Glancing from the corner of her eye, she noticed the moment he tried to sneak into the room behind her back. She mentally rolled her eyes, making it appear that she was looking for something in the drawer she had opened. Really, he should not think that she was so dense that she could not hear him inching his across the old, squeaky floor. However, she allowed him to get within reaching distance before she finally took a step back, watching as he froze on the spot.

Smirking to herself, Sango inspected her dresser as if she was looking for something that she might have misplaced. She watched stealthily out of the corner of her eye as he finally reached out to grab at the packaged outfit, intending on snatching it up and running. However, he was far too obvious, and the moment he almost touched the protective packaging, she spun around and shouted, "Don't even think about it, Jakotsu!"

Jakotsu gave a high-pitched scream, before scrambling to avoid the swinging fist. He barely managed to avoid the first swing before another came his way, but he slipped a little on the carpet and fell beneath the second one. Afterward, he did his best to race from the room, shouting back at the vindictive woman that he would see that outfit. And Jakotsu was determined!

Shaking her head at his antics, Sango closed the drawer she had opened, and then went to slide her closet shut. Once done, she walked out of her room, closing the door, and slipping the key in for a quick turn, effectively locking Jakotsu out. However, when she looked up, she smiled when she saw that Kagome was peeking out of her room, Hiei doing much the same in a more manly way. They both looked rather curious, though Hiei's look contained a bit of malice.

Probably because Jakotsu's girlish scream had cut into his playtime.

"Sango?" Kagome asked. "What was Jakotsu doing in your room?"

Sango grinned, saying, "Oh, he was trying to sneak a peek! I got rid of him, though, and I'll do the same to Hiei if he tries anything." She shot the man a glance, noticing the way he snorted. He probably thought he could slip into her room, look at the outfit all he wanted, and then leave without her ever knowing. And though he was Kagome's boyfriend, and he was good for her, she still reverted back to her old habit of calling him names.

_Arrogant bastard._

Kagome smiled a bit, imagining Jakotsu trying to tap into his  _ninja_  qualities in order to get to the outfit. Apparently his ninja skills were not as developed as Sango's, though, for he had obviously failed in his mission. And the very thought made her giggle.

"Hn," Hiei replied to her warning. His arm snuck around Kagome's waist, and tugged her back into her bedroom. However, he doubted that he would get very far when she was in a fit of giggles and thinking about all the things that the idiot would no doubt try in order to see that outfit. He really did not care either way, since he would see it sooner or later, but he was seriously thinking that it might be better to return to his place until a winner had been declared inside the war zone.

He had a suspicion on who it would be, though.

* * *

He smiled charmingly, absentmindedly smoothing out the slight wrinkles in his shirt. Today would be the day he took his first true step toward getting the woman that he had left go of so easily. He was positive he was making the correct step, too, since all women tended to have a need to be showed affection. It was a bonus that he could show a little kindness to those around her as well, though, since it would put him into a better light than Yusuke had ever been in.

After all, the man had thought taking a teenage girl to a ramen stand was romantic.

Kurama stepped closer to the bakery, delighted to find that Keiko was indeed behind the counter again. She had never been the type to mooch off of her friends, so he imagined that she had asked Yukina for the position while she was staying with her. And all the facts pointed to the fact that she was, which meant that it would be quite simply for him to play his little game of seduction.

Having already called Yukina for his order of sweets—which he truly planned on handing over to Hiei—he went to the door. His sense of balance was well shown as he pushed open the door, waltzing inside with the grace his mother had gifted him with. He nodded to Yukina, noticing her stick her head out with the tiny ringing of the bell, and then turned his attention to the woman smiling up at him from the counter.

"Good afternoon, Shuichi," Keiko greeted him happily. "Is there something I can get for you?"

Kurama smiled a little more, happy to hear such a lovely tone escaping the captivating woman. He had known that she was a strong one, that she would fight Yusuke tooth and nail until her heart was finally within his grasp, but he had not expected her to appear so warm toward him so soon. "Good afternoon," he nodded. "I called ahead this morning, so Yukina should have what I ordered. And you may call me Kurama, Keiko. All of my old acquaintances do."

"I think I prefer Shuichi," Keiko replied.

And the barrier went up in that instant. Kurama recognized it immediately, since she was probably waiting for Yusuke to get off his stubborn ass. However, he was not one to lose, and nodded in acceptance to her answer. "Forgive me, I'm just so used to being called Kurama after so many years, that hearing someone call me Shuichi seems a bit formal," he told her. "Almost as if I'm back at work in the lab."

"Oh!" Keiko laughed. "That's understandable."

His eyes flickered to the side when the young girl raced from the back, her hair up and her face splattered with dough. He smiled humorously when she sent him a questioning glance, before quickly turning her excited eyes back to her mother. She was clearly proud of something she had done, and he smiled a bit more when she spoke quickly about how Yukina had taught her to make another type of cookie. She was very cute, and Kurama could clearly see the similarities between her and her mother.

However, the young girl quickly ended her tale of her kitchen adventure and turned her attention to him once more. He smiled at her, showing her that he was not one to be feared, while she merely blinked at the gesture. "Mommy," she asked, "who's that man?"

Keiko laughed rather nervously, patting her daughter's head. She said, "This is a customer named Shuichi, Rini. He knows Yukina, daddy and I."

Rini looked confused, as she turned to give her mother a long stare. Then she returned her eyes to the item he held in his hand, before once more looking at her mother. "But mommy, why is he carrying flowers?" she asked.

Keiko noticed them for the first time, and blinked in surprise at the long stemmed roses hanging from the man's fingers. She raised an eyebrow, but kept her attention on her daughter. "I'm not sure why he has flowers, Rini. Maybe you should try asking him that," she said.

Rini bite her lip childishly, before turning her eyes onto him once more. They were large and curious, and Kurama easily saw both parents in the child. Though, he had to admit that when she spoke, she sounded much more like her mother. "Shuichi-san," she asked, "why do you have such pretty flowers with you?"

Ah, it was almost easier than he had thought. Kurama chuckled at the little girl's innocent question, before saying, "I thought that Yukina might like them. She has always been fond of the roses that I grow at home, and she has been very kind to me lately. I thought that I would be kind in return."

"Oh, you're giving those pretty flowers to Godmother Yukina?" she asked.

"I had planned to," Kurama nodded. "But, I think that I might have to change my plan a little bit."

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"Because," Kurama stated, pulling a single rose from the bundle, "it would not be right to give flowers out without giving one to the adorable little girl that has probably worked very hard today. And perhaps even on the sweets that I ordered."

Rini's smile brightened, as she chirped, "I get a flower?"

Kurama held the rose out to her, continuing to smile, as he said, "If you want one."

Rini was more than happy to take the flower from him, instantly turning around to shove it underneath her mother's nose. "Mommy, look!" she cheered. "Shuichi-san gave me a flower! Isn't it pretty?"

"Very pretty, Rini," Keiko grinned. "But you'll need to ask Yukina for some water, for it'll wilt soon."

Rini nodded, rushing away to do as her mother had said. She held the rose as if it was the most precious thing in the world, though she did know that it was the prettiest in her opinion. And the nice man had been kind enough to get rid of the pointy thorns that used to be on the flower stem, since she could feel the indents underneath her fingers.

"That was very kind of you," Keiko said.

Kurama tilted his head, while he said, "I have many of them at home. My friends and family often think that I should run a flower shop, but I am rather happy where I am."

Keiko noticed the curious stare he cast her way. She asked, "Is something the matter?"

"No," he said. "I merely wanted to ask if you wanted a rose as well?"

Keiko blushed a bit, "Oh, I really don't need one!"

Kurama pulled another rose from the bundle, holding it out to her. "Well, whether you need one or not, I believe that a beautiful woman should have one. And it would not be right for me to give it to every beautiful one in this shop except for one."

Keiko's blush did not lighten, as she took the flower from him. She thanked him, while running her fingertips along the stem. It brought forth memories, but she could not remember a time that she had met such a nice man. Though, she supposed, that since she had actually known him longer than she thought, she had known a nice man for quite some time. So, again, she said, "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it," Kurama forced out. In truth, he wanted her to think about it. But, he supposed that it was too soon in the game to try such a thing, considering the fact she would probably back off rather quickly. And he could not have that if he planned to capture the gem that she was in the end.

Yukina came from the kitchen with a smile, Rini following at her heels with the flower sitting in a glass full of water. They were both smiling, while Yukina moved to hand him the package of sweets he had ordered. "I believe that's everything, Shuichi. I was rather surprised to hear from you so soon, though, since you usually don't come in more than once a month."

"I simply could not resist," Kurama told her. He held out the rest of the roses he held, and continued, "And I had promised you some more roses since the last ones died. I have just had my hands full lately."

Yukina took the bundle, smiling, as she said, "Thank you, Shuichi. These will look lovely in the window."

Rini remembered her manners at that moment, as she spoke up, "Thank you, Shuichi-san!"

"You're very welcome," he smiled. He reached into his pocket for his wallet afterward, planning on keeping the meeting short before he decided to try a little more with the woman he wanted. Now was not the time, though, he reminded himself. And he had to do things right if he wanted to finally take her hand in his own and know that he had finally caught her.

* * *

"You're a lucky bastard," Yusuke muttered, glaring at the tape that sat innocently on his bed. He had planned to destroy the damn thing once and for all, but the damn phone just had to go and ring at that moment. As he moved to get it, though, limping a bit on his bruised leg, he cursed the tape.

And he cursed the bastards that had kicked his ass.

Picking up the phone, he asked, "What?"

" _There's no reason to be rude, Yusuke!_ " the woman on the other end of the line snapped. " _I was only calling to see if Keiko was home from her family trip yet or not._ "

"She's not here," Yusuke told her.

" _Well, where is she?_ " she asked. " _Did you do something? You did, didn't you?_ "

"Look," Yusuke growled. He really did not like this chick. "Keiko has gone to stay with Yukina for a little while, Yuka. There's no reason for you to suddenly jump the gun, because there's nothing wrong."

Yuka huffed, " _I doubt that, Urameshi Yusuke. But thank you, I'll make sure to call Yukina's instead._ "

"Whatever," he muttered, before hanging the annoying device up. His glare returned to the tape sitting on his bed. The thing did not even look dangerous—like it could not have done all of the stuff that had screwed up his life so far. And damn it, for that, he was going to rip it apart. He was going to make sure that no one else would ever be able to look upon it and see the crime that he had committed.

More importantly, they would never know he had gotten caught unless someone told them. Like that damn cross-dresser and the pretty boy that decided he had touched something that he should have left alone. Well, he knew that! He had just needed something that would make sure that he did not leave his wife and child, because he really did not want to be like his father. And his plan had backfired on him big time.

A gleam in his eye, Yusuke advanced on the tape. It would not have the chance to escape, and once he destroyed it, he was sure he could win back his wife and child.

The sound of the phone ringing once more caught Yusuke's attention, and he tripped. Hitting the floor roughly, he hissed as he landed on a large bruise that damn pretty boy had left behind. The area throbbed with pain, and he looked behind him to glare at the phone. Yuka's damn voice was coming out of the answering machine already, saying something about how she had forgotten to tell him something and whatnot. He did not really pay attention, as he held onto the damaged leg.

Glancing at the bed, he gritted his teeth. That damn tape was mocking him, he was sure of it. He had been ready to get rid of it—to chop it into a million pieces and laugh like he was crazy. Yet that blasted Yuka had to call and ruin everything, he was positive he would not be moving for quite some time.

Damn Higurashi Kagome. If she had just stayed home, he would not be sitting on the floor holding his leg and the bruise that just would  _not_  stop hurting for the life of him. If she had just had a little more faith in the faithfulness of her boyfriend, he would not have picked her up. He would not have wanted to go for a second time, knowing that he was committing the greatest of taboos and loving every moment of it, and he would not have screwed up his life.

Gritting his teeth, Yusuke realized that he was pressing on the area a little too hard. He was sure that the bruise was down to the bone from how hard the pretty boy had hit him. At least the cross-dresser had been more entertained with his thoughts of blood and beauty, occasionally taking a good hit that was sure to leave the loveliest of bruises.

If only there had only been one of the freaks. He could have taken one of them. Even after so many years of not having to fight, he was positive he could have taken one of them. And he really wanted to have the satisfaction of breaking the pretty boy's face, since the cross-dresser had appeared more concerned with the emotional trauma he had caused to Kagome.

Sighing, Yusuke rubbed his hand over the area that was in pain. His eyes flickered again to where the tape lay, and he scowled deeply. He  _would_  destroy that tape. He was determined, and once his leg stopped hurting, it was going to die. It would burn and shatter, and feel the pain that it had brought to him. He would make sure of it.


End file.
